Shifting Times
by Chrystal-Hearts
Summary: Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a lover. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting hard.
1. Chapter I

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter I**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

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It was a bright sunny day and the trees were swaying in the breeze as a young woman grumbled about it taking so long to get home. Urging the group she traveled with to move faster, she tried getting them to hurry even more. It was with a sigh that she happily slipped off upon reaching their destination. For today had been a long one. Making her way through the thick forest, she allowed her thoughts to drift back to the day's events.

They'd woken up early and started off just after dawn. It didn't take long for demons to start attacking them, which wasn't very nice. That fight lasted for three hours because they had to fend off so many. Then they ran into two high class demons and that turned into a messy fight. It took a while for Inuyasha to defeat his opponent and during that fight, Miroku and Sango tried taking on the other demon. Kagome took Shippo and hid in the nearby trees as Sango and Miroku had ordered her to do.

It was the demon her two friends fended off that ended up injuring her. If not for Shippo, then she would have been fatally wounded. The kit's foxfire caused the demon to back away because he wasn't expecting the attack, but the damage had already been done. Her arm and shoulder had five huge gashes running down them. Kirara appeared in the midst of the blue flames as the demon started back towards the girl. Sango hurled her mighty weapon then and the demon jumped away, just far enough that Miroku managed to pull him into the wind tunnel.

As that memory crossed her mind, Kagome's left hand reached over to her right arm and her fingertips grazed along the white bandages which were slowly turning red. With a slight shake of her head, the girl returned her thoughts to the present as she smiled at seeing the old well in the middle of the clearing she'd just entered. Nearing it, she placed her hands on the rim and hoisted herself onto the side before slipping into it's dark depths. When she landed in her own time she slowly made her way up the ladder with a slight grimace from the pain. Once she was out she opened the door to the well house and stepped out into the still sunny afternoon.

She made her way into the house and set her bag down on the floor as her mother greeted her. "Welcome home dear. Would you care for a bath?"

"Yes please." The girl replied as she smiled somewhat tiredly at her mother. The way she stood hid the bandages that wrapped around her arm, though her mother would probably notice them soon anyways.

When the older woman returned from starting the water, she smiled at her daughter before noticing the bandages with a slight frown. "Were you in another battle dear?"

"Hai momma, and it would've been worse had Shippo not protected me."

"Than I'll have to get him something special as a thanks." The woman said as she began removing the cloth from the girl's arm. "How long will you be staying?"

"Inuyasha gave me a week to heal from this since I can't exactly use my bow now."

"Then you'll be able to complete some school work before you return." The older woman stated as she moved to take off the bandages on the girl's shoulder.

"Yes momma."

Twenty minutes later found the girl relaxing in a nice warm bath, though she had hissed in pain at the feeling of the water seeping into her wounds. With a sigh she looked to the alarm clock she'd brought with her and groaned. It was nearly eight o'clock and she had somewhere that she wanted to be. Pulling herself from the steamy water she slowly dried off and wrapped the towel around herself before making her way to her room.

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A man cloaked in black sat within the branches of a tree that was placed in the park. His eyes were closed as he was seemingly asleep. He had blue tipped black hair which had a white star-burst pattern in the front. He wasn't all that tall, standing at maybe 5'3". The sound of a twig snapping had his eyes opening to reveal stunning rubies. Finding the source of the sound, surprise flashed briefly through his eyes before he dropped to the ground to look at what appeared to be a young woman.

The young woman gave him a soft smile as her eyes danced with happiness. She stood at 5'1" with dark tresses that looked like a waterfall of ink, pale skin that seemed like porcelain and looked as soft as silk, lips that could match the reddest of roses, and eyes that sparkled like stars and put sapphires to shame. "I'm glad I found you, Hiei."

"I hadn't expected you to be back yet." The demon replied as he looked at her, his eyes narrowing upon catching the faintest trace of bandages beneath her shirt. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing important." She said as her hand reached up to her other arm.

"Don't lie to me onna." The man said darkly.

"I'm not Hiei, this is nothing important."

"Hn." He said as he gave up, knowing that she'd not tell him. "Why are you back so early?"

"Well, it's actually because of my injury. I can't train very well because of it and so I was sent home early." The girl said as she moved to stand maybe a foot away from him. "But I'm glad to be back early, since I get to see you." And her arms wound around him as her eyes closed.

Pulling back a bit, he looked at her face and tilted her chin up so that their eyes connected before slowly lowering his lips to hers. The kiss was soft and gentle, almost loving in nature before it turned hard and passionate. It wasn't long before the man picked the girl up and disappeared in a blur, reappearing only when they were deeper into the woods. Laying her down, he slowly began undressing her.

This wasn't the first time that they'd been together, and Kagome hoped it wouldn't be the last. No words of feelings were spoken as hands traced along exposed flesh. The young woman reached up and tugged the man's cloak off before also tugging his shirt off. Her hands traveled along his toned arms and his muscled chest before she moaned at the touch of his hand on her breast.

Leaning down, he trailed kisses from her breasts to her lips and back down again. His name fell from her lips as he took one of her nipples into his hot mouth. Her hands trailed down his chest and to his rock hard abs before descending farther down to his pants. Quickly undoing the buckles, she moved to unfastening the clasps. Her movements paused as his mouth moved to her other nipple and his hands slipped lower to her skirt. After unzipping them, he pulled them and her panties down and off her legs.

"Hi..ei.." The broken moan escaped as the man's rough hand reached up to massage her unattended breast. Said man smirked at hearing the moan and allowed his other hand to reach down between the girl's legs. A gasp escaped her at the first touch of his hand on the sensitive flesh of her nether regions. Though the gasp soon turned into a deep moan as his probing fingers found her entrance and began teasing it.

Hands slowly made their way into the waistband of black pants as the girl decided she wished to tease him as well. Her dainty hands wrapped around his hardened length and gave a gentle tug causing the man to hiss in pleasure. Stopping his own ministrations, he ignored her moan of protest as he stood and removed his pants. Then he kneeled down between her legs and brought her womanhood to his mouth.

A deep throated moan left her lips as his tongue reached out and brushed against her clit. With him continually attacking the little bundle of nerves, it didn't take long for her to reach her climax. After drinking all she had to offer, he quickly moved up her body and sheathed himself inside her warm and swollen core. He hissed at how tight she was and how her inner muscles clenched tightly around his length.

His rhythm began slowly, pumping in and out of her core slowly. Her back arched into him, causing her soft breasts to give against the hardened steel of muscle which was his chest. Pushing himself up so his weight was on his arms, he moved one to wrap around her so she was held against him. Another deep moan escaped the girl as she tossed her head to the side exposing her neck while she also squeezed the man's length with her inner muscles. Growling in pleasure, he lowered his mouth to the junction of her shoulder and neck then allowed his fangs to graze her skin. Licking them after doing so, he growled at her delightful taste.

His speed hastened as she continued flexing her inner muscles around his heated member. Changing his angle of penetration, he had her biting her lip to hold in her screams as white began dancing through her vision. But one last stroke to that spot had her screaming his name as she came violently around his member, causing her inner muscles to tighten dramatically. The quivering of her inner muscles is what caused the man to go over the edge as well, his own release hit hard and he spilled his seed deep within her pliant and willing body.

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Birds were chirping and the sunlight was shining down on two figures who rested within the branches of a large tree. It was a young woman curled up in the arms of a young man. The girl's eyes slowly fluttered open and a serene smile touched her lips as she curled further into the warmth that surrounded her. Nuzzling her face into the guy's neck, she gave a happy sigh. The arms around her tightened and the man's crimson eyes slowly opened. "Good-morning Hiei."

"Onna."

A giggle. "Can't you use my name? I mean we _are_ alone."

He rolled his eyes, but gave a small barely there smile to her. "Kagome."

"See, that wasn't so difficult." She mumbled as her lips moved to his neck and she scraped her teeth against his hot skin, causing him to hiss at the sensation.

"I'll take you again if you don't stop that."

"I have time." The girl mumbled as she moved to straddle his lap. She then returned to suckling on his neck before moving to his shoulder. Able to feel his member hardening beneath her, she moved her mouth to his sensitive ear and began suckling on the lobe.

"Good." He said as his eyes flashed a deeper shade of red. His hands went to his cloak, which she wore in order to cover herself.

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"Momma! I'm home!" Kagome called as she made her way into the house.

An older woman with dark brown hair approached the girl with a smile as the younger girl slipped into one of the living room chairs. "I assume you had fun last night?"

The younger girl turned a deep shade of red as her eyes moved to the floor. "Yes momma."

"Will your 'boyfriend' be visiting you tonight?"

"Hai, unless something comes up."

"Will you be helping out with the shrine today?"

"Hai."

"Alright then. I'll start breakfast so it's ready when Souta and Jii-san wakes up. Why don't you go freshen up."

"Alright." The younger girl said as she stood quickly and moved to go upstairs.

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Sunlight streamed down upon the village as the people slowly went about their chores. Inuyasha decided to help out and went about gathering firewood for the huts. It was the midst of fall and the wood supply was rather low at the moment. Miroku was helping out Kaede, Shippo was playing with the children, and Sango had gone to gather a few items from her old village. The slayer also took Kirara along with her.

At the moment, the two were stopped and Sango was heaving into the bushes. She'd been doing this for about two weeks now and she wasn't sure exactly why, but she did have an idea. It was only a slight possibility, but it was still there. She'd managed to pull Kagome off to the side right before the girl departed and asked her a favor. It made the girl laugh but she had agreed.

With a deep sigh, the girl pulled herself onto her feet and moved toward the nekomatta. The demon cat mewled at her and cocked it's head to the side in an inquisitive manner as she returned to her larger form. The slayer smiled weakly and pat her head before climbing onto her back. "Don't worry Kirara, I'm alright."

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"Iron reaver soul stealer." More trees fell to the attack as the inu hanyou smirked. "This is too easy."

"Then perhaps ye need more to do." Said an aged voice as someone approached him.

"I don't think so you old hag." Inuyasha said as he glared at the elderly woman. She had gray hair with a brown eye, as her other was lost in her youth during a demon attack. A black eye patch covered the lost eye so as not to be seen. "I still have more firewood to chop."

"Then ye shouldn't whine Inuyasha." The older woman said as she looked at the hanyou's progress. "But ye are doing well."

"Yeah yeah. Where's the monk?"

"He's seeing to lunch."

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Kagome hummed as she made her way down the shrine steps and to the store. Her mother had asked her to get a few things and she figured that she could get some of the things that her friends needed her to bring them. She especially wanted to get the item that Sango had asked her for. At that thought, the girl began giggling almost insanely. _It's about time they got together._ Of course, the actual purchasing of the product would be a bit embarrassing, but she _had_ promised to get it.

With another giggle, she crossed the street and continued on her way. Though she hadn't noticed the shadow that blurred into the tree near her and up onto one of the buildings, then again the shadow wasn't following her, it was actually moving to somewhere else to meet someone. So oh well. The girl who hadn't noticed was still moving toward her destination which would be in sight within a couple minutes.

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"What did you need fox?"

"I simply wished to know how you were doing since I felt your presence here in Ningenkai." Said a red haired man with emerald eyes.

"I am fine." Replied the man who was dressed completely in black.

"Then perhaps you'd accompany me home to talk after I purchase some groceries?" The man in black's eyes narrowed but he gave the man a nod and followed him into the store.

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"Kagome-chan!" Shouted a girl with short black hair as her eyes widened upon seeing the other girl. As the other girl reached her, she pulled her into the store. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm shopping." The girl with long dark hair said somewhat meekly.

"Well you can shop with me then." The short haired girl responded as she began tugging her around.

_Can this get any worse?_ The long haired girl whined in her head as she thought about what she needed to purchase this trip. It was with trepidation that Kagome sighed and moved to the pharmaceutical part of the store. Upon reaching the needed item, she grabbed it and stuffed it into her basket, which instantly drew her friend's attention to it.

"Oh my god Kagome! Are you pregnant?"

Unfortunately that outburst drew the attention of two guys who were nearby. The one with red eyes looked surprised for a moment before quickly concealing it. The red head though was curious about the outburst. The long haired girl known as Kagome quickly jerked the little box from her friend's hands and replaced it into her basket before hissing "don't shout like that."

"You are, aren't you?" Her friend asked, this time in a quieter tone. "And it's that no good two timer's, isn't it?"

Sigh. "He's not my boyfriend… anymore." _Can't really say he never was when I said he was to shut them up._ "But no, I'm not. This is for a friend who can't get it herself."

"Since we're on the subject of boyfriends, have you seen Houjo lately?"

_Talk about dense._ "No."

"Well you should see him soon, that seventh grader is trying to get him to go out with her again."

"Yuka…" The other girl practically whined.

"Yeah Kagome?"

"Do me a favor and pick up my prescription from the counter."

"Sure." Yuka said as she took the piece of paper before looking at it and allowing her eyes to widen. "You're on birth control?"

"Yuka!"

"Alright, but you're so telling me who when I come back."

When the short haired girl disappeared, Kagome sighed in defeat. "Why me?" She browsed the selection of medication quickly as she grumbled about random things. "Sango is so dead for needing this stupid test, Miroku too. And mother is so dead for suggesting birth control."

The nearby redhead chuckled and ushered the red eyed man away with him. The girl continued her muttering even when Yuka returned with her prescription and began firing off questions about who the girl was with and if she was even still a virgin. "Come on Kagome, you can tell me."

A groan escaped as Kagome continually tried to avoid answering the question. It wasn't until she made it to the register that she noticed Hiei nearby. Flushing slightly, she quickly paid and tried to run from the store, but Yuka managed to pay and quickly catch up. This elicited another groan as the short haired girl pulled her to a stop near the others. "I wanna go home Yuka."

"Not until you tell me who." The other girl replied with a slight glare.

"I'm not saying any names."

"Then at _least_ give me a description."

"Fine." The long haired girl grumbled. "Handsome with black hair."

Sigh. "Well what's he like since you obviously refuse to properly describe him."

"Passionate." She grumbled in response. "And I need to get home, my mother's waiting." And she rushed off before the other girl could say anything.

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"Once you're done with the dishes, you can go for the night." Mrs. Higurashi said as she smiled kindly at her daughter.

"Leave?" Kagome questioned as she turned to look at her mother.

"I wasn't sure if your boyfriend would be coming here, or if you would be going to him."

"He'll be coming here for the night." Kagome responded with a soft smile.

"Then remember to be quiet." Her mother responded with a chuckle. "Souta has school in the morning."

Blushing madly, the girl nodded her ascent. "I will momma." The words were whispered as she kept her eyes trained on the dishes, but a snickering sound drew her attention to the doorway and her face darkened in color. "Souta, what're you doing down here?"

"I was only curious if you could help me tomorrow after school."

"With what?" The girl questioned curiously, cheeks still tinted somewhat red.

"I keep getting this odd feeling and I keep shocking people" the boy responded. "To me it looks like a bluish energy."

"Hmm…" The girl responded as she thought for a moment before turning to look at her younger brother. After several minutes of examining him, she returned to her chore. "It appears that your spiritual energy is awakening. While I'm not as adept at sensing these things, I can tell when I look closely enough."

"Can you train me then?" The boy asked hopefully.

"I can barely control my own wild energy, but I can help you tame it at least. That should be simple enough to accomplish, all you need is some meditation."

"So you'll help me?"

"Hai. Tomorrow after school, I'll be sure to have some spare time."

"Thanks nee-san!" The boy exclaimed as he raced to her side and hugged her.

"You're welcome Souta." Wrapping an arm around him, she smilingly returned the hug. "Now off to bed, you'll need your rest for tomorrow."

The boy quickly took off upstairs causing their mother to laugh as she shook her head. It always amused her how easily her son would listen to his sister. When the two were younger, she'd always have to fight with the boy to get him to do something, but not Kagome. All she had to do was say one thing and he'd jump to do it. With a smile to her daughter, she bid goodnight and went up the stairs to prepare for bed.

Kagome continued with her chore until all the dishes were washed, dried, and put up. Then with her own smile she departed up the stairs for a quick shower before Hiei would arrive. Once she had the temperature hot enough she stepped into the scalding water and sighed. The heat felt wonderful against her slowly healing wounds. It was with a saddened sigh that she allowed her fingers to trace along the swollen flesh. The gashes went from her shoulder to slightly down her chest, continuing onto her arm as she raised said appendage.

Shaking her head at the sight of her ruined flesh, she reached for the shampoo and began smoothing it throughout her long inky black locks. Once she had her hair saturated in the scentless concoction, she piled it on her head and reached for her scentless body wash. After several incidents with Inuyasha, she had finally conceded and started buying scentless bathing supplies. It was actually better in the long run because it didn't make her scent more prominent making it easier for the demons to find her.

Discarding that thought from her mind she began lathering her body in the liquid soap. Once finished she easily stepped beneath the pelting water and allowed the spray to wash her body of the soap. Then she allowed her fingers to comb through her dark tresses as the water washed the shampoo out. Next was the conditioner and it, too, was easily rinsed from her hair. Standing under the spray a few moments longer, the girl gave a defeated sigh before turning it off and stepping out of the shower. Grabbing two towels, she easily wrapped one around her middle, then placed one around her hair.

Giving one last sigh, she opened the bathroom door and made her way into her room. Noticing that the window was still shut, she realized that Hiei had yet to appear. Walking over to the glass, she slid it open and allowed the chilled breeze to swirl around her. Closing her eyes, she smiled into the cool air. Said air had knocked the towel from her head, freeing her hair from it's confines. "You'll become ill if you continue to remain in that cool air."

A soft smile graced the young woman's lips as she turned to look at the handsome man who'd just appeared in her bedroom. "The cool air hardly affects me much anymore." The man gave her a skeptical look and she began giggling. "Since you're so worried, why don't you come warm me up. I mean you _are_ a fire demon." Giving a seductive wink as well as a playful pout, she tried not to giggle as the lust in his eyes sparked to life.

A dark smirk appeared on his lips as he began stalking toward her. Blue eyes widened as she took a step back while trying not to tremble in excitement. The air around them began to heat up as the demon's youki began wrapping around him. The warmth almost made the girl shiver as her eyes began darkening with her own lust. When the demon reached her and pulled her against his exceptionally warm body, he leaned down and began kissing her neck and shoulder. "Hot enough for you?"

His deep voice caused her to shiver with anticipation as she felt her towel falling from her body. The cool air hitting her skin before heating dramatically caused her to shudder in pleasure. The hands that had pulled the towel loose now traveled down to her inner thighs and began massaging them. The girl in his arms let out a shaky breath which sounded curiously like a low moan. "W-we need to be quiet Hiei."

"I'm not the one who always screams." He murmured against her skin, causing her to blush darkly.

"Hiei." She moaned somewhat loudly as his teeth scraped across her uninjured shoulder.

He chuckled, the action sounding dark and dangerous which caused the girl to shiver. "And you said we need to be quiet." Her blush darkened, but she was soon moaning again and he once again chuckled. His youki rose once again and a barrier formed around the room. "Now there's no need to worry about being quiet." The whisper had her turning to meet his eyes and she froze at the predatory look within them.

Eyes wide and mouth slightly parted, her breathing quickly became labored. Her blood soon felt like it was on fire as her arousal spiked. She watched as Hiei's eyes darkened further as he scented her spiking arousal, a dark smirk appearing on his lips as he pulled her body flush against his own. A trembling hand reached out to brush along his face and down to his strong arm. "You're a little over dressed."

"That's easily fixed." He stated as his clothes suddenly vanished from his body. One arm wrapped around her low back while the other pulled her face to his so he could seal their lips together. The kiss was rough and passionate and he was completely controlling it. His hand left the back of her neck and he pushed her back toward the bed where she bumped into the foot of it and toppled onto her back. Hiei leaned down and took her lips again before slowly trailing kisses down her body and to her curls.

It wasn't long before he had her screaming his name in pleasure. When she came violently, he shifted her onto her hands and knees before shoving himself roughly inside her, causing her to come once again; even more violently than the previous time. Her inner muscles squeezed his so tightly and it felt wonderful. His nails lengthened into claws as he gripped her hips to hold her in place. She hissed in pleasure as he pulled out and rammed into her once more as his claws dug slightly into her smooth skin.

He was taking her roughly and she was loving it. Her energy rose to the surface of her skin, causing it to glow slightly. The energy danced across the skin of her lover, sparking and burning as it traced along him. The demon hissed in pleasure at the feeling and he allowed heat to rise up, causing little flames to dance along the girl's skin. She writhed in pleasure as she thrust her body back towards him and tightened her inner muscles as she did so, causing him to growl in pleasure. His claws dug further into her skin as to still her as he pulled back and rammed into her harshly.

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Hazy blue eyes slowly opened to look into the darkness that surrounded her. It was still night out, but Kagome doubted that she'd been asleep for very long. Attempting to roll onto her side ended in a wince as her injury became irritated with the movement. Speaking of which, it hadn't been covered and Hiei hadn't seemed to notice it. "Those gashes paining you?" Until now.

"It only hurts a little." The girl responded quietly. "But it's fine."

"You're lying." The demon stated as the arm around her waist pulled her closer.

"Even if it is a little painful, there's not much that can be done. I'll be fine."

This caused the demon to growl at her as he sat up, pulling her up along with him. She winced as the movement shifted her shoulder, but quickly shook the pain from her mind as Hiei pulled her back firmly against his chest. "I can help."

That surprised her. "How?" The question came out meekly as she relaxed completely against him.

"I have some healing abilities." He admitted somewhat softly. His voice was quiet, almost sounding like he regretted giving up the information. "I inherited it from my mother."

"Your mother?" Kagome questioned as she turned so she could look into his eyes. After a moment of thinking on it, she returned to leaning back against his chest. "You can if you want."

He gave a nod and lifted his hands so one sat on her arm while the other covered the gashes on her shoulder. Closing his eyes he called upon the less used power that he held within him. Forcing his fire powers to submit, he grasped the other side of his power and began pouring it into the girl in his arms. Though he couldn't see it, the girl's eyes widened tremendously as she felt the energy that was pouring into her. Only once had she felt this kind of power before, and it was from an ice maiden. Slowly her mind began putting two and two together.

Hiei's concentration was solely on pouring his energy into the wounds that marred the girl's porcelain skin. The flesh slowly knitted itself back together and became flawless once more and the demon gave a sigh of relief. It was a slight strain to be able to use that side of his powers. Noticing the fact that she remained still and hadn't said anything, he became slightly worried. "Is something wrong?"

"Hiei?" The girl questioned as she turned in his arms. He could see in her eyes that she had figured something out and was curious about it. "I know that you're a hi youkai, but what else are you?"

His eyes widened at that question. "What do you mean?"

"The energy you used, I've felt it once before… from an ice maiden." She stated as her eyes turned questioning. "Was your mother a Koorime?"

The demon looked away from her and closed his eyes as he nodded. "Hai."

"Oh." Was her _intelligent_ reply. Then she mentally shrugged and curled into his lap. He tensed at feeling her do so. "So that means you're half fire and half ice, right?"

"Hai." He replied, somewhat uncertainly.

"You must've had a difficult time growing up. I heard that the Koorime are mostly cold hearted and despise men." Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his shoulder a moment before kissing on his neck. "But enough of this conversation, I want to thank you for healing me."

Hiei's eyes darkened as he felt her bite his neck with her dull human teeth. "I should find reasons for you to thank me more often."

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"Kagome! I'm home!" Souta called as he slid the shoji door open and entered the house.

"I'm in my room!" Came an answering call.

"Alright!" Souta replied as he took off his shoes, dropped his bag, then raced up the stairs to open the door. His eyes widened upon seeing that there was a man in the room as well. Realizing who he was, Souta quickly turned his attention from him and onto his sister. "Sorry nee-san, I didn't know your boyfriend was here."

"It's alright Souta." The girl replied softly as she rose from her spot in front of her vanity. Her long hair was still slightly wet, and the boy noticed that the guy's hair also had a damp look to it. Thankfully the guy had also put his shirt back on. "Hiei was getting ready to leave anyways, so could you wait out near Goshinboku?"

"Of course." And he quickly raced from the room.

Kagome shook her head and giggled at her little brother. Turning back to Hiei, she smiled and wound her arms around him. "I'll see you tonight?" It was stated as more of a question than anything.

"Of course." The demon replied as he lowered his lips to hers in a gentle yet passionate kiss, then he disappeared out her window leaving her to sigh sadly. She always hated it when he left.

Shaking herself of the feeling, she turned and made her way to where her brother was patiently waiting for her. It was easy to tell that he was thrilled to be training with her. It almost made her laugh at how energetic he was about it. When she saw him waiting there under the tree, she did allow a giggle to escape her lips. "So I take it you're ready to meditate then?"

"Hai nee-san!" The boy said with much enthusiasm.

"Well then" she started as she relaxed into a yoga pose, "come and relax beside me."

"Alright." He said as he collapsed beside her at the base of the tree. "Now what?"

"Calm your mind and drift into a deeper state of awareness that feels like sleep. Search your inner mind and find the core of your power, then tame it so that it won't act up."

"Ok." The boy said as he closed his eyes and concentrated.

Kagome closed her eyes as well and fell into her own tranquil state. Drifting through her mind, she found her own well of power and slowly began trying to tame it. No matter what she tried though, the power simply would not bend to her will. Sighing in frustration, she gave up on taming and started poking at it._ Might as well see if I can pull pieces of it to help me._ After an hour, her blue eyes fluttered open and she looked over to her little brother. "Alright Souta."

The boy opened his eyes and looked into his sister's, causing her to gasp. "What is it?"

"Your eyes, they're violet now."

"They are?" He questioned curiously.

"Hai. Come and see." She whispered out as she grabbed his hand and led him into the house then to a mirror in the living room. "See?"

"You're right." He whispered in awe. "So I'm kinda like you then?"

"I suppose so." The girl replied with a giggle.

"Maybe I can go through the well now too."

Another giggle. "I doubt it."

"I can still hope." The boy replied as he fell back against the tree.

**/\**

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Three days had passed since the day Kagome had taught Souta to meditate. Sadly, today she had been caught by her 'friends' and they had dragged her out to go shopping. It was bad enough that they were practically drooling over _all_ of the guys, but they were also shoving her into the lingerie store now. With a groan, she submitted to being forced to look through the underclothing. Once they were in the store, the other three girls began piling items into her arms. And so it was that she left the store with at _least_ three bags.

The day continued thus. All three girls would randomly pick a store then drag the others into it, then they'd begin piling items onto her arms. And so by lunch time, the girl had at _least_ fifteen bags on her arms. When they reached the food court, she collapsed into one of the chairs. "That was exhausting."

"Come on! There's still more to do!" A girl with shoulder length brown hair said. This was Ayume.

"Yeah Kagome, and you still need to choose something you want to look at." Stated a girl with shoulder length black hair. It was permed and this girl's name was Eri.

"I wouldn't mind looking at kimonos." At the curious looks from her friends, she quickly added "it could be helpful. I need kimonos for my training, as well as miko outfits."

"Ohh…. Look over there." Yuka said as she pointed across the mall.

"He's hot!" Ayume agreed as she looked at him.

"The redhead's not that bad looking either." Eri said with wide eyes.

Turning to see why her other two friends were making faces, she almost erupted into giggles. There were two guys who were arguing like little kids, though she would admit that the one with slicked back black hair looked quite handsome. The one with what appeared to be orange hair had a softer, gentler look to him. It gave him a somewhat cute look as well. His black eyes also held kindness. The dark haired one had chocolate brown eyes and a tough guy exterior, though Kagome could still see the softness held within his eyes. "Neither are _bad_ looking."

"Then why don't we go talk to them?" Yuka proposed as she grabbed the long haired girl's arm and started dragging her over to the two boys. She tried stopping them, but they kept dragging her along anyways. Upon reaching the boys, she quickly said hello. "I'm Yuka and this is my friend Kagome."

"Ah hi, the name's Yusuke Urameshi." Said the black haired guy.

"And I'm Kazuma Kuwabara." Introduced the orange haired man as he gave them all a smile.

"My name's Eri."

"And I'm Ayume."

"Kagome thinks you're hot." Yuka suddenly exclaimed.

Eri took a step back as she noticed her friend's eye twitching. Ayume also noticed and took several steps back, but Yuka remained oblivious to it all. Apparently the two boys also noticed as they both eyed her warily. "Yuka?"

Sensing nothing wrong with the sweet voice eliciting from her friend, she turned with a smile. "Yes Kagome?"

"I did _not_ say that I found them hot! I _said_ that neither boys looked _that bad_ since you, Eri, and Ayume were arguing about it!" By the time she quit yelling, Yuka had hid herself behind the two guys and stared at the long haired girl with widened eyes.

Cue nervous giggling. "I was only trying to get you a boyfriend."

And more eye twitching. "I _don't_ need a boyfriend… I already kinda _have_ one. Not to mention I'm too busy to actually have one."

"Anyways, do you have girlfriends?" Ayume questioned as a way to change the subject.

Kagome's head fell into her hands as she sighed in exasperation. "I'm leaving now."

"No Kagome, we're not done shopping yet!" Yuka exclaimed.

And cue the groaning. "But I _hate_ shopping."

"Too bad!" Ayume and Yuka exclaimed at the same time as they both grabbed hold of her and continued talking to the boys.

**/\**

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It was morning of the next day and Kagome found herself not wanting to get out of bed, so she simply curled herself even closer to the body of her lover. When he went to move to get out of bed, she shook her head and tightened her hold on him. "Please stay a little longer."

"Why the sudden urge to keep me here? You knew I'd leave early this morning to meet an acquaintance."

"I'm leaving today Hiei. I know I said I had a week, but I feel bad for staying even after my injury healed."

His muscles tensed as he heard the words, then his hold on her tightened. Nuzzling into her neck, he growled lowly. "When will you be returning?"

"Two months." She said softly. "Unless something happens to keep me there longer or send me home early."

After a moment of thought, the demon decided to try something. "Can you drop the barriers around your mind?"

"W-what?" The woman asked, somewhat startled. "Drop my barriers?"

"I would like to make a connection to your mind. A link so that either of us can open it and speak to the other." The demon explained.

The girl looked to be in thought for a moment before turning questioning eyes to the demon she was wrapped up in. "You want to have a mental connection to me? But I'm only ningen… and we're only lovers."

Her words caused Hiei to growl as his arms tightened around her. "Regardless, you are _mine_ until I release my claim on you. Therefore I don't care that you're ningen."

"R-really?" She asked in surprise.

"I will not repeat myself."

"A-alright then." She managed to stutter out as she closed her eyes and concentrated. _It'd help if _I_ made the barrier in my mind. Miroku made it with my energy _and_ his._ With this thought in mind, she tried tugging on the energy that shielded her thoughts. Receiving a shock, she opened her eyes with a wince. "_That_ didn't work." She grumbled before once again closing her eyes. This time she jerked the energy cords. That didn't work either, so she tried forcing her own power into the energy cords. That seemed to work, but it also sent a surge of pain through her mind. "That… hurt."

Allowing his jagan to open from underneath his bandana, he used it to reach into the girl's mind. Though he couldn't get in far, he got in far enough to create the link. Once that was done, he soothed her energy back up into her shield and withdrew his own mind from hers. Opening his eyes, he saw her pouting at him. "What is it?"

"How did you get the energy to obey you like that? I had to send more energy at the little cord just to bring a single one down."

"You shielded your own mind, but can't control the energy?"

"Someone else used my own energy and theirs to shield my mind." She stated with her pout still in place. "I've yet to learn how to use my energy that well."

"Then what have you been learning?"

"How to fight with a bow." She answered sadly. "I've also had some training with kunai."

"All this time and you've only leaned to use a bow and kunai?"

"I'll be learning the sword soon. My friend plans on training me now, and I'll be having another friend help me with my abilities."

"Is that why you may be gone longer this time?" He questioned with a raised brow.

"Hai." She whispered in response as she snuggled closer to him. "So will you stay a while longer?"

_**/Only for a little while./**_ He whispered into her mind before he focused his energy into another link. _**/I'll be late Kurama./**_

_**\Why is that Hiei?\**_ Asked a deep and silky voice.

_**/I am preoccupied./**_ He responded vaguely.

_\Alright Hiei.\_ Kurama entered in. _\I shall see you later then?\_

_/**Yes./**_ Was 'Kurama's' only response. A growl caused Hiei's attention to turn toward the woman in his arms. "What is it?"

She pouted. "I heard your voice in my mind, but I can't figure out how to activate the link."

The demon chuckled at that. _**/Focus your energy into the link and it'll open./**_

"Alright." She whispered before closing her eyes and finding the spot where his energy rested within her mind. Pushing some of her energy gently into it, she smiled when she felt it start to open. _**(Can you hear me?)**_

_**/Hai./**_

_**(Yay! That means I did it.) **_She said excitedly, while still keeping her voice down. **_(Wait, does this mean you can hear my thoughts now?)_**

A deep chuckle reverberated through her mind before he spoke. **_/You _can_ close the link./_**

_**(Ok, good.)**_

The demon's eyebrow rose in a questioning manner at that. _**/Is there something that you're trying to hide from me?/**_

_**(Nothing important.)**_ She quickly supplied.

_**/What are you hiding?/**_

_**(I said it was nothing important.)**_ She quickly whispered into his mind. _Just my feelings._ The thought crossed her mind, and Hiei just barely heard it though he showed no signs of such.

_**/Fine./**_ He gave in.

* * *

Here is the first chapter of my new story. I hope that you enjoy it, because I'm trying to make them longer so that they're better reading.


	2. Chapter II

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter II**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

_**/What are you hiding?/**_

_**(I said it was nothing important.)**_ She quickly whispered into his mind. _Just my feelings._ The thought crossed her mind, and Hiei just barely heard it though he showed no signs of such.

_**/Fine./**_ He gave in.

**This Time:**

"What're you doing back early Kagome-sama?" A man with shoulder length black hair pulled back into a dragon tail at the base of his neck asked. He also had violet eyes that seemed to match the color of twilight.

Kagome giggled as she looked to him. "I've been healed for a time now and I figured coming back a day early wouldn't hurt."

"How is it that you healed so quickly?"

"My little secret." She said with a giggle as she held her fingers to her lips. "Anyways, where's Inuyasha?"

"He left the village a few days ago to see to something, and has yet to return."

"What about Sango?"

"She's in the village now, she returned yesterday with several things that she said were for training."

"Perhaps you'd like to train me a little today?" She pondered to him as she smiled.

"I wouldn't mind Kagome-sama." The man replied with a smile. "What would you like to train with?"

"Reiki would probably be easiest to use, so I suppose it would be best to train with first."

"Alright, we'll start training as soon as we return to the village."

"Sounds good." Kagome replied as she fixed the bag on her shoulders. "Let's get to the village then." It took them maybe fifteen minutes to get out of the forest and to Kaede's hut, so it wasn't all that long before they were both deep in meditation.

"You haven't been doing your meditations." Miroku commented as he looked to her. "I could sense that you are the same now as the day you left."

Giggling nervously, she nodded her head. "I've been… occupied while at home."

"Occupied with what?" The monk asked with a lecherous grin. Kagome blushed and averted her eyes to the ground, causing his eyes to widen. "Why Kagome-sama, I never knew you to be one to do something like that unless it was with someone you loved."

Her blush darkened and she turned her eyes to meet his. "Promise you won't tell? Sango already knows a little, but not much. Just that I've been seeing someone in my time."

"You have my word that I won't tell a soul." Miroku promised smoothly.

"I've been seeing someone for a while now, and we became lovers a few months ago. He's passionate and even somewhat caring… though he does act kinda like Sesshoumaru." That had Miroku chuckling. "But he doesn't despise humans, at least that I know of. And well I spent my time with him and it was he who healed me."

"So you have a lover now? Wait, why would your lover hate humans?"

"He's umm… well he's a demon." She replied as she kept her eyes on his. "He _does_ care for me though."

"So does he know of your adventures?"

"No, he thinks the same thing that my friends do. I told them all that I was going away for months at a time to train to take over the shrine."

"So they believe you are training?"

"Well, I didn't lie. I _am_ training, though it's so I can defeat Naraku. But I _do_ plan on taking over the shrine. That is unless Souta wants to take it over, which he might. His own energy awakened not long ago."

"Well it is time I train you to use your reiki. You do know the differences between it and the energy you use, correct?"

"The energy that I normally use is called shenki, which is mainly used to purify demons and is a lesser form of seikouki. Seikouki must be earned while shenki lies within the soul. Then there's also youki and jyaki. Youki is pure demon energy and jyaki is demon energy that most demons wield because they manipulate it into what they wish to control it with. Then there is reiki which monks use. It's the energy from the body."

"Where did you learn all of that?" Miroku asked curiously and surprised.

"My grandfather decided that I needed to know." She replied with a shrug. "So now what?"

"Now I teach you how to use your reiki. Concentrate your energy into the tip of your finger if you can."

"Alright." Eyes closing, she carefully tried to find the energy of her body. It was simple and she realized that she could have done so without even closing her eyes. But what she felt seemed like quite a bit of energy… not as much as her shenki, but still quite a bit. Gathering it into her finger seemed easy enough, and it was. Opening her eyes, she saw a large ball of energy. "That was relatively easy."

"Yes, you seem to be a natural at controlling reiki." Miroku commented as he eyed her. "I suppose we should start with the basics of control and I'll test your abilities and skill to find out where we should start after that."

"The basics would mainly be focusing my ki into one point, correct?"

"Yes."

"Should we go somewhere else to practice then?"

"Hai. An open area would be best to practice in."

"Alright, let's go then. Well, that is if you have the time."

"Of course Kagome-sama." The man said as he rose to his feet.

**/\**

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"Ah…" The sigh was soft and delighted as it sounded from the steamy fog which surrounded the hot spring. A young girl easily relaxed within the warmth that encased her. The sound of the swishing water had her eyes opening to look to her right. There she saw her best friend and sister figure, a woman with long dark hair and doe brown eyes. "Hello Sango."

"Did you get the umm… _item_?"

Kagome giggled as she nodded. "Hai, the test is in my bag, just over there."

"How do I use it?" She asked embarrassedly. Leaning over to her, the younger girl quickly explained the use of the item. The older girl nodded and rose from the spring in order to use it. Moments later she returned and set the test by the side of the water. "How long do I have to wait?"

"Five to ten minutes. Fifteen at most." Kagome responded with a slight smile.

"Oh Kagome, what am I going to do if it turns out that I _am_ pregnant?"

"You'll tell Miroku and we'll keep searching for shards until you're showing."

"This just isn't fair." The slayer whined. "I was only with him _once_."

"You should have said something to me, then I could have gotten you some birth control."

"That's what you're using with your 'lover', isn't it?"

"Hai, and it's worked so far."

"So will you tell me more about him? Like maybe what he looks like?"

The younger girl giggled, but gave a nod anyway. "Amazingly he's not super tall like most demons I know, in fact he stands only a few inches higher than me. He's got black hair with blue tips and this white star-burst in front. Oh, and he's got these crimson eyes that put rubies to shame."

"Crimson eyes?" Sango questioned as she looked at her now blushing friend.

"Well Sango, he's youkai."

"But I thought there weren't youkai in your time?"

"That's what I thought, but after meeting him those months ago I searched the shrine and found an old scroll. It depicts an event known as the splitting of the worlds. Reikai, Makai, and Ningenkai. I believe that that's what happened, because Hiei slipped once and said that he needed to return to Makai for a time."

"So the world was split? What about Meikai?"

"The netherworld still exits, but souls have to travel through spirit world to reach it now from what I understand."

"So from this information I'm assuming that you live in Ningenkai, but haven't really seen demons because most of them live in this Makai?"

"Hai, and there's supposed to be this barrier that separates them, but some can slip past it. Like Hiei."

"So Hiei is your lover's name?" Sango asked with a curious smile.

"Hai, but don't tell anyone else that. If word leaks, then it could alter the future."

"Right, your secret's safe with me." The slayer promised.

"Thank-you Sango."

"But did you know that his name means 'flying shadow'?"

"I'm not surprised, he's incredibly fast." Kagome offered as she looked into the water. "He's also _very_ powerful, like Sesshoumaru, but not quite to his level yet."

"I think we need to have a little talk." Stated the slayer as she looked to the younger girl.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean on the demonic classifications. There are seven altogether. Eight if you include the class known as ancients."

"Alright." The younger girl responded as she took the information in. "What are the classes?"

"The lowest is known as E-class. Strong humans and really weak demons make it up. Strong humans that have spirit energy but not much control. The next level up is D-class, they're weak but can be very dangerous. Next is C-class which are made up of formidable demons."

"What kind of strengths are we looking at for each of those classes?" Kagome questioned as she looked at her friend.

"The hundreds of demons that Naraku normally send after us range between D and E-class. Most taijiya are ranked at a C-class. Due to my experience and strength I'd be considered a low B-class. Inuyasha is ranked at around low A-class since he has the tetsusaiga. S-class is above A-class and consists of some extremely formidable opponents. I'd say that Naraku is a low to middle S-class. Above that is the Taiyoukai status demons like Sesshoumaru. Few demons ever reach that level of power. And above that are the ancients. They have both knowledge and power which makes them the most powerful of all."

"So Naraku is a low to middle S-class?"

"Now that I think about it, I'd guess he's actually jumped into high S-class to low taiyoukai class."

"So he can match Sesshoumaru?"

"Yes, but only because the jewel gave him his power. Before that had happened I'd say he was a C-class youkai."

"Alright, what would you classify Inuyasha as without his sword?"

"Between C and B-class."

"What about Kouga?"

"With his shards I'd say a low B-class. His strength is his own, but it's his speed that gives him an advantage."

"Ginta and Hakkaku?"

"I'd say D-class at best." Sango said with a laugh.

"What about Miroku? What would you classify him at?"

"Upper C-class to low B-class. So my range. Kirara is a mid C-class, Shippo would be at E-class only because he's so young, and I'd say you're at Upper D-class since you have no control of your powers and barely know how to use a weapon. When I'm done training you to be a slayer, you should be at upper C-class to low B-class. Mix in your training with Miroku and that'll probably raise you between mid and upper B-class."

"What would you rank Kikyo as?"

"Well…" Sango started as she thought for a moment. "I'd say low A-class. She has a calculative mind as well as complete control over her shenki. But thinking on that as well you do have a good chance of surpassing her, as I don't know how you'll take to either my or Miroku's training."

"Maybe I'll even reach S-class." Kagome said with a giggle. "So what would you call a human who's powers just awoke and can sense _some_ abnormal things."

"A low E-class, why?"

"Souta has shenki that just recently awoke. I had to help him get it under control so that it's quit shocking people."

"So he has shenki as well? Interesting."

"Yep, and now you can check the test." Kagome chirped with a delighted smile.

Sango stiffened, then nodded as she picked the little stick thing up. "It's blue."

"Congratulations Sango!" Kagome exclaimed as she threw herself at the slayer. "You're pregnant."

**/\**

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"You _have_ to tell him Sango." Kagome encouraged as she pushed the slayer toward Kaede's hut. "Take him out so you're by yourselves, and I'll talk with Kaede-obaa-san like I need to while you do."

"But what if he gets angry with me because of this?"

"Sango, he's always asking girls to bare his child, and now _you_ are doing so. I'm pretty sure that he'll actually be thrilled… and surprised." She added the last part with a giggle. "Now come on." The younger girl easily tugged the older one into the hut and towards the spot where Miroku was meditating. "Go on."

The slayer nodded and walked shyly toward the monk. "Miroku, can we talk in private for a moment?"

"Sure Sango." The man replied as he rose from his meditation and turned to follow her.

Kagome giggled as she shook her head at them. Turning back to the older woman in the hut, she smiled. "Could you help me with my shenki?"

"Of course child. What do ye wish to learn?"

"Can shenki be used to heal?"

"Hai. It'll be difficult to grasp since you've hardly any control of ye energy."

"I'll try really hard." The younger girl promised.

"Alright child." The old miko said with a nod. "Ye must be able to grasp your energy and pull it into your hands, then ye need to channel it into the one ye wish to heal. If ye wish to heal youkai, then ye'll need to separate the purifying energy from the healing energy."

"Alright." Kagome whispered as she closed her eyes to try and concentrate. Soon enough she saw her energy wrapping around her soul and tried to pull it away and into her hands, but it wouldn't listen. Pulling harder didn't seem to help either. _Fine._ She gave a fierce tug… "Ouch!"

"Ye shouldn't try to force it." Kaede said with a chuckle as she handed the younger girl some water.

"But it won't listen."

"Give it time child, and keep practicing."

"Hai, Kaede-baba." The younger girl nodded as she took a sip of the water. Setting it down, she closed her eyes and once again began concentrating. It was close to three hours later that Sango awakened her from her trance. The slayer promptly began dragging her out and away from the hut. "What is it?"

"Time to start our training." The slayer responded. "From what I heard, you're learning to use reiki. My training will help that training because it'll increase your physical strength."

"Alright. Where do we begin then?"

"We'll start with building up stamina and strength, then we'll move to fighting with boken and hand to hand."

"Sounds good." When they reached the clearing, Sango commanded Kagome to do push-ups, then sit-ups, and a bunch of other things. Needless to say, she was tired after about two hours. The slayer then suggested a bath which the younger girl quickly agreed to. "So how did Miroku take the news?"

"He was ecstatic." Sango whispered as her cheeks tinted red.

"Well that's a good thing. _So_ when's the wedding?"

The slayer's cheeks turned an even deeper as they reached the water. Slowly removing her kimono, she delayed answering the question until the other girl began giggling. "Tomorrow if Kaede-sama agrees to perform the ceremony."

"I'm sure she will." Kagome assured as she too lowered herself into the steaming warmth that was the water. Sighing in bliss as the water soothed her now aching muscles, she closed her eyes and allowed her mind to calm. Slowly she centered her mind on her soul and began sending some of her energy into it to keep the pain at bay. She eased even more power into the spot with the void when it gave a painful throb.

"Kagome, are you ok?" The voice sounded so distant, but she knew it was close. It took a few moments for her to pull herself from her meditation and she looked up into her friends worried doe brown eyes as she finally managed it. Said friend had just raised her hand to feel her forehead. "Are you alright?"

"M fine Sango. Just meditating." She mumbled out as she looked at her friend. "Are you getting out now?"

"Hai. Will you be staying a little longer?"

"Hai." The slayer nodded and stepped from the spring before dressing quickly and leaving. Kagome smiled at the retreating back of her friend before returning to her meditation. Once inside of her self once more, she decided that she'd try something new. Concentrating on what she wanted, she managed to create a corporeal form within her own mind. With that accomplished she summoned all of the energy inside of her so that she could work on it without having to move throughout her body.

At seeing the energy which wrapped around her soul, she sighed and glared. Moving her form toward it, she tried using force to pry it away from her soul. That _so_ didn't work. In fact she burnt her imaginary hands… Well now she gave a gentle tug. Amazingly that gave more of a result as the energy gave slightly. _Don't tell me…_ Gently bringing the energy to her, she growled when it came with such ease. _You have _got_ to be kidding me._

Since it was coming easily, she gave a little tug. That halted it's progress and she sighed as she began gently bringing it toward her once more. She sat in that spring for hours doing this, softly pulling on the energy until all of it floated around the form she created within the confines of her mind. "And you better be easier to use now." Grumbling about the amount of time that took, her eyes turned to look at the large soul which was sheathed within the middle of her powers. There she saw the most peculiar thing… It was a little silvery white kitsune. "Odd…"

Moving toward the little sphere it was contained in, she reached out her hands and pulled it into her arms. Upon touching her skin, it's eyes immediately opened to reveal a deep midnight blue. The eyes looked so beautiful and her hands twitched slightly before she gave up with a sigh. Her hand thus made it's way to the kit's ear and began massaging it causing the little animal to purr. "Yip!"

"So what're you doing here?" The girl calmly asked the animal in her hands. It yipped and nipped at her neck but didn't speak. "So you can't speak human… and I don't really know any kitsune. Well I'll just have to ask Shippo to translate if you become physical in the real world too." With that, she looked back to her soul to see it humming as her powers returned to being wrapped around it. With a sigh, she gave a tug but was surprised when the powers came to her with ease. "Well that's new."

Turning away from her powers, she turned instead to the reiki that was contained in one corner of her mind. Moving to it with the kit still in her arms, she began poking and prodding it. _It's blue._ Looking over at the violet miko energy, then back to the light blue energy she smirked evilly. Pulling them both together she tried mixing them. _Bad idea._ Somehow she managed to protect the kit in her arms as she was thrown across her own mind. "Well that hurt."

Shaking her head, she turned instead to look at the little piece of energy that was held in the forefront of her mind. _Can I talk to him while in the past?_ It was possible she assumed. Using her brain she thought of how she'd manage this trick. _In order to get to him I have to pass through the well, so if I push my energy _through_ the well and link my energy to it I _should_ be able to communicate with him through time. Alright then._ Pushing her energy outward, she slowly reached for the well's magic and allowed her own aura to seep into it.

Once that was taken care of, she easily poked at the energy within her mind. Grr… It didn't work. _Fine._ Jerking the energy sharply, she groaned when it zapped her harshly, though it still opened. _**(That hurt. Are you there Hiei?)**_

_**/Kagome?/ **_Giggling happily at her success, she gave a positive answer. **_/I thought you had left for training already./_**

_**(I have, and I'm relaxing from my training. Talk about evil, my teacher decided that I needed to work out for hours without any previous knowledge.)**_

She could hear his chuckle and responded with a growl that had him laughing. **_/So you've been training all day?/_**

_**(Hai. First with Kaede-sama, then with Sango-chan. Not to mention I had to do the meditation Miroku-kun set for me.)**_

_**/Miroku?/**_ He questioned, a tinge of possessiveness in his voice.

_**(Hai, he's Sango's husband… kinda. She's pregnant and they're eloping tomorrow. He's like an older brother to me.)**_

_**/Hn./**_

_**(I waste all this energy on trying to talk to you and all you say is 'hn'?)**_

_**/What do you mean 'waste all this energy'?/**_

_**(Just that it took a lot of energy to make this connection reach you… especially since I've no idea how to really open the link. It shocked me you know.)**_

And she heard even more chuckles at that. **_/All you have to do is gently coax the link open./_**

_**(I **_**tried****_ that and it didn't work. What the…)_** She trailed off as she focused on the surrounding area.

_**/Kagome?/**_ Hiei questioned after she stopped in the middle of saying something. He started to worry when she didn't respond to him. _**/Kagome./**_

_**(Little busy.)**_ Her voice sounded pained and it confused him a little. **_(Eek… Talk about gross.)_** The girl was currently looking up at a demon who'd snuck up on her while she was bathing. It was a giant oni and looked rather disgusting with neon green skin that had black splotches which looked suspiciously like blood staining him. Her hand moved and ran gently over her left arm where slight gashes had appeared from where she'd tried to dodge it's attack. At the moment things didn't look very good for her.

_**/What is going on?/**_

_**(Just getting attacked by an oni while bathing.)**_ She said it like it was such a normal occurrence that she shocked the man she was telepathically talking to. As the demon neared her, she dove back into the water of the hot springs in an attempt to hide. _**(Now I wish I had my bow… Wait, there's Inuyasha!)**_

_**/Inuyasha?/**_ The demon in her mind questioned with a deep growl. _**/Aren't you bathing onna?/**_

_**(Ah… Yeah.)**_ Her reply was questioning for a moment before she realized what the problem was. **_(Excuse me while I kill my savior.)_** After those words, the mind link was effectively cut. "Inuyasha…"

The dog hanyou looked over at her with a smug smirk after killing the demon, only to gulp and become wide eyed as he turned and tried to run. "Kagome wait…"

"Sit boy!" Several more forms of the word escaped her lips until the hanyou was unconscious in his little hole in the ground. Grumbling about stupid demons and annoying hanyous, she calmly reclined back into the water and yanked sharply on the link. _**(I'm back.)**_

Noticing the happy tint to her voice, he couldn't help but ask what she'd done. He immediately started laughing upon seeing the image of the inu-hanyou twitching and unconscious in his own little crater. **_/What did you do to him? He looks like a demon./_**

_**(Hanyou actually, and I simply told him not to come near the springs while I'm here… Or to leave **_**very****_ quickly once he'd slain any attacking demon.)_**

_**/Why was a demon attacking you in the first place?/**_

_**(…)**_ That was something which would be hard to answer. **_(I'm not sure, low level demons simply seem to think that I'm food of some kind.)_**

_**/I can't blame them, you are rather tasty./ **_His smirk could be heard through his voice, just as his desire could as well.

While the girl did blush, she giggled as well. _**(I'd prefer if you were the only one to **_**'taste'**_** me.)**_

_**/Good, because I don't like sharing what's mine./**_

A shiver wracked the girl's body at him claiming her as his, and it was a delighted shiver. Her lips formed a smile at the thought of being his, and she sighed happily. It was a secret that she'd been trying to keep from him, the fact that she was in love with him. She was afraid of how he'd react to such a proclamation from her. _**(Don't worry, I'm faithful.)**_ Secretly she questioned: _who wouldn't be?_

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"So what _did_ happen at the hot spring Inuyasha?" Miroku questioned as he walked next to his hanyou friend.

Said hanyou blushed darkly but shook his head. "Feh. Stupid wench got attacked by some low level oni while bathing and then sat me after I rescued her."

Miroku chuckled at that. "You know how females are Inuyasha, they're self conscious about their bodies and don't like it when we men enjoy the sight of them."

"I'm sure your wife wouldn't be too happy if you were to look at any other female's body anyways." The hanyou grumbled as he glared at said monk.

The girls were up on Kirara with Shippo and were talking about whether or not the baby would be male or female and who it would turn out to be more like. Soon though, their conversation died down and the younger girl sat in thought. Her mind turned to the little kit who was _still_ in her mind. If she were to take a guess, she'd assume that the kit didn't have enough energy to produce a physical form. As that thought went through her mind, the little kit gave off a yip. _I'll take that as a yes. _Since no one was really paying attention to her, she decided she'd see how Hiei was. Poking at the link in her mind, she sighed in relief when it opened with ease. _**(Hello Hiei.)**_

_**/Hn?/**_

_**(You're busy, aren't you?)**_ She questioned, a pout obvious in her voice.

_**/Hai./**_

_**(Oh, then I'll get back to my training then.)**_ She whispered into his mind as she cut the link. Returning to the present she closed her eyes and opened her senses in hopes of feeling a jewel shard. But she didn't feel anything. With a sigh she asked if walking would make good training.

Sango giggled at that and had Kirara descend down to the guys before handing the girl her bone boomerang. "This will be your training. It's heavy, but you need to learn to carry it with ease if you ever wish to wield it."

"Alright." The girl replied as she strapped the weapon into her back. It was rather heavy, but then again so was her backpack. Used to carrying around it's weight, she wasn't that burdened with the weight of the weapon. "This shouldn't be too difficult."

"If you start to get too tired, let me know, alright?" Sango questioned.

"Ok Sango." The girl replied with a smile as she began walking beside Miroku. Shippo quickly hopped from Kirara's back and onto her shoulder.

"Since you're down here, I might as well add to your training." Miroku stated as he looked to her. "Tonight I will give you something called 'spirit binds'. It'll require you to keep your reiki at one hundred percent power at all times if you wish to be able to move, though it will also strengthen your spiritual abilities."

"Then what do you want me to do now?"

"Practice working with your reiki. I want you to pull on the energy and channel it throughout your entire body. You're to do this until you can do it on instinct. Then I'll teach you to block attacks with energy shields."

"Ok." Giving a nod she turned to her exercise for the day. It was taxing on her strength to practice using her reiki, carrying the demon bone weapon, and walking at their fast pace, but she somehow managed to keep it up. She found it was easiest to pull the energy into the palm of her hand. After several hours of trying while they walked, Kagome was dead tired. Though she ignored it as she glared at her hand. Grumbling about needing a wider range, she turned her focus further into herself and pulled energy into the entirety of her body. When she started glowing a pale blue, the others all turned to look at her. "Hehehe… oops. Sorry."

"Do not apologize Kagome-sama, this is a good thing in your training." Miroku commented with an impressed smile. "Usually it takes longer to accomplish this feat."

Smiling happily, the girl raced to the monk and hugged him. "So that means I'm doing good, right?"

"Hai Kagome-sama." He chuckled as he returned her embrace. "With the way you're advancing, you'll soon be finished with your training."

"I'm glad you think I'm advancing quite well."

"Enough a this, we're wasting time." Inuyasha griped as he glared at the two.

Kagome glared back but let go of the monk so that they could continue on their way. Since she'd managed to do what Miroku asked of her, she decided she'd concentrate on her miko powers. It was difficult to go into her mind while keeping her eyes open so that she could see where she was going. A yip alerted her that she'd reached the part of her mind where she set up her little 'practice' area. With a giggle to herself, she walked over to the kit and picked her up into her arms. Looking to her violet miko energy, she once again pulled on it. Soothingly it began wrapping around her body, whispering promises of helping freely.

Smiling to herself, she decided to try and use it for something new. Focusing her power to the small gashes that decorated her arm, she tried healing them. Amazingly it actually worked. With a smile she tried mixing a tiny bit of her shenki with the tiniest bit of her reiki. To her surprise it actually worked. A distant sound had her withdrawing back into her conscious mind where she saw that they were being attacked by demons. Eyes widening, she ran to the quickly descending Kirara as she un-strapped the weapon from her back and handed it to the demon slayer.

Holding Shippo tightly in her arms, she turned to the demons that were charging at them. _Great, and I don't have a bow or arrows._ Dodging claws that were aimed for her, she grumbled at being attacked by so many demons at once. Inuyasha shouted for her to take cover and she dutifully obeyed, running to hide a little ways behind the group in a few trees. Shippo clung tightly to her, not wanting to be separated as more demons came. Miroku was about to open his wind tunnel when the saimyosho arrived.

It was strange how the demons seemed to be completely ignoring Kagome though. Speaking of which, the girl quickly whirled around as a terrible feeling sped through the pit of her stomach and her eyes widened. Demons. There were dozens of them behind her and they were all lead by a demon with dark blue hair that dusted his shoulders and had violet crimson eyes. Backing away from them, she quickly turned and pulled her bag into her hands as she started running. Quickly stuffing Shippo into the bag as the others turned to notice what was going on, their expressions to from shock to fear. "Be safe, my little kit." The girl whispered as a demon grabbed her and she allowed the bag to slip from her grasp.

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Struggling wasn't working and it was only getting her more bruises as the demon carried her smacked her. She internally grumbled about stupid males that like to smack her. For some reason she couldn't even call on her miko energy… at least it wouldn't come to the surface. It'd still heal her, but it wouldn't materialize._ It's a good thing I shoved the shard into Shippo's hand._ An evil gleam suddenly appeared in her eyes before she slid them shut and delved into her mind. On the inside she was snickering as she moved over to her two separate energies. _I know I'll pay for this, but…_ Yanking on her shenki, she took a nice amount and tried to mix it with a large amount of reiki.

Well, it _did_ work. Hey it killed the nearby demons… though it did knock her unconscious and she was falling through the air. That's probably why she didn't notice as strong arms caught her and took off heading to the south. The demon which held her smirked as he approached a castle that was nestled at the foot of a cliff. Around the castle were humans, as it made the castle a less conspicuous place to be.

Kagome was soon awoken when she was dropped unceremoniously onto a hard stone floor. Eyes snapping open at the impact, she mentally groaned at the pain in her throbbing head. Looking around, she noticed that the violet-crimson eyed demon was the only one around. Turning to glare at him, she questioned: "where am I and what do you want with me?"

The demon gave a malicious smirk which showed a hint of fangs as his eyes gleamed with evil intent. "Naraku wishes to have you priestess, so I have brought you here for him. Sadly though, he'll be gone for a bit."

The girl's eyes suddenly widened as she realized what trouble she was in. "Where am I?" Though she was panicked on the inside, she managed to keep her voice calm and her face neutral. _Being around Hiei is paying off, he's rubbing off on me._

"We are in the Southern lands priestess, and soon Naraku will return for you. But I think I'll enjoy toying with you until then." The man's malicious smirk returned as he smirked evilly at her.

Kagome could see the malice in his eyes and she had to restrain herself from showing weakness and shrinking away. On the inside she shivered in a mixture of fear and disgust. Her sapphire eyes met his violet-crimson and defiance flashed through them as she pulled herself from the floor and glared heatedly at him. "Inuyasha and the others will come for me."

The man smirked before e disappeared causing the girl to tense. His smirk widened as he appeared behind her. Arms wrapping around her, he restrained her even as he pulled her back against his chest. "But they'll never find you." He whispered as he licked her neck. "You know, you taste rather delicious."

The miko growled deeply as her eyes darkened in anger. On the inside she was shivering in disgust, but outside she showed nothing but anger. Managing to jerk herself from his grasp, she turned her dark glare onto him. "Touch me like that again, and I _will_ find a way to kill you."

The demon smirked at her as he snapped his fingers. Instantly several guards appeared. "Take her to the dungeons for the time being."

The guards nodded as they started dragging her away. Glaring at the demon one last time, she allowed the human men to steer her away while grumbling under her breath about evil demons and stupid men. She wasn't sure how long she had, but she _knew_ that she had to get out of the castle before Naraku turned up. Not sure that she could wait for her friends to arrive, she tried thinking of a way out of this. Little did she know what she'd be going through in a short amount of time.

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Inuyasha cursed as he saw the demons carry Kagome away while he couldn't do anything. Miroku also noticed the situation and acted without thinking. Making sure that his allies were behind him, he quickly pulled the prayer beads from his hand; opening the wind tunnel. The others gasped and Sango shouted for him to close the void. Shaking his head, he called out for Inuyasha to go after Kagome and that he'd follow once he was done.

Inuyasha looked at him with understanding before taking off as Sango rushed to his side. When he finally sealed his hand, she and Kirara helped him over to Kagome's backpack where she immediately began searching for the antidote before administering it to him. Once that was done, she picked up the sobbing Shippo, tossed the bag onto her shoulder, then helped her husband onto Kirara's back so that they could follow after Inuyasha and the demons who had kidnapped their friend.

It wasn't long before they caught up with the hanyou and they saw a large piece of devastated land. Miroku managed to remain conscious long enough to reach this place and commented that it felt of Kagome's energy signature. Before they could ask him anything else though, he passed out. Inuyasha sniffed around, but couldn't find any signs of a trail so they went on a guess but had to make camp soon so Miroku could rest.

* * *

I know, it's only _twenty-nine_ pages long, but it's the best I can do for this chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it so far. I'm trying to take this story slowly and make it longer and more interesting at the same time. Anyways, I hope you like it. Let me know.

**ashmo21 (Here's the next update!)**

**hotshorty (That's good lol.)**

**WhiteDemoness11 (Well, it's a little tricky with the feelings part actually, but it'll all be explained at some point.)**

**Raine44354 (Well… It _needed_ the lemon lol.)**

**Ebony Cassandra selene Riddle (Well this one already has a mostly thought out ending, so it'll be easy to finish off if it's any consolation.)**

**LeafeKnight7 (I will!)**

**OoOlady heatherOoO (Well, here's more.)**

**kandy123654 (Have to what? Lol.)**

**g2fan (Lol, here's more.)**

**Reads-way-2-much (I will!)**

**cowgirlkitten2000 (Well, here's more!)**

**43InuAsha (Thanks.)**

**KagHieiLuver (Well, you were in mind when writing it lol. And you _are_ a pervert, there's no use denying truths. ((winks)).)**

**Silver Moon Vampire (I will.)**

**madmiko (Oh, I find that I rather enjoy the 'behemoth' chapters and have taken to lengthening chapters of other stories and adding more detail. I may actually have to go through and redo a few chapters of some stories that I don't quite care for. He knows some of her companions, but he knows nothing about travels through the past. She's using half truths to hide whole ones, so in essence she _isn't_ lying, she's simply leaving some truth out. And the whole acceptance thing will be shown more in detail in later chapters now that I think about it. And I thank you for pointing out that I mentioned '7th grader'. Kagome is nearly 17 and _should_ be in eleventh in essence making the '7th grader' a '9th grader'. I shall have to go through and correct that. And that _may_ be what it seems like, but it's more than just the sex. It'll all be given more light in later chapters. She hesitated because she doesn't want to get her hopes up by claiming him when she thinks that he wouldn't want more than their current arrangement. And about your many other questions, the shard search is a main part of this 'epic' tale, and we will go into how they met and what happened. As it stands, we will also have to have several other parts which I forgot to add in recent chapters. Without readers like you, I'd be lost on how to write. You ask me questions you wish to know and I add in the detail which actually makes my story better. I give you my thanks!)**


	3. Chapter III

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter III**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

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**Last Time:**

It wasn't long before they caught up with the hanyou and they saw a large piece of devastated land. Miroku managed to remain conscious long enough to reach this place and commented that it felt of Kagome's energy signature. Before they could ask him anything else though, he passed out. Inuyasha sniffed around, but couldn't find any signs of a trail so they went on a guess but had to make camp soon so Miroku could rest.

**This Time:**

_I guess he doesn't like it when you spit in his face._ The girl laughed at her own thought as it flowed through her mind. She found it rather funny actually. The man who decided to bring her here in the first place had decided that torturing her would be fun, and so he decided to be evil about it. So far she had been in this place for two weeks and had suffered near daily beatings and torture. On the latest meeting with her captor, she'd spat in his face when he'd tried to kiss her… While it had been funny, it had also earned her a bit of pain. There was a nice claw mark on her cheek from where the jerk had decided she needed 'scratched'. A punishment for defiling his person. _Oh well._

She'd long ago given up on trying to heal any of the wounds that he'd given her. As it were, he added some sort of poison into the wounds he made so that she _couldn't_ heal them. I mean she had _no_ idea how to even _use_ her powers, so how was she supposed to purify the poison so she could heal herself? Answer: she couldn't! Not like she really cared at the moment though. Her main concern was trying to figure out a plan of escape. A derogatory remark took her attention to the 'animals' that were placed outside her cell. The demon who brought her here actually called the things 'guards'. While they were human, they held so much taint that Kagome could plainly feel it without using any of her powers.

With that thought came another. _I could kill the guards in order to escape._ Before trying to push that thought from her mind, she paused and thought it over. Going over pros and cons in her mind before moving to other factors. Inuyasha had killed humans before, though when he'd killed the bandits for pure fun he'd despised himself. Sesshoumaru killed _anyone_ who stood in his way. Hiei probably killed a few humans as well. The humans that guarded her _were_ tainted. They could even become more Narakus. Cue shivering at that thought. Changing her point of view, she looked at this from a neutral point. Demons killed humans _and_ their own kind. Humans killed their own kind while those that could killed demons. Would her killing a human really be so different from her killing a demon when she saw no difference between the two?

Now more questions began flowing through her mind, questioning when she'd lost her mind to think such thoughts. But still, was there a difference. The real answer: no. Both were alive and both bled. Both had hearts, even if their hearts beat differently. But then again she didn't like killing demons anyways. Was her life really worth theirs? She didn't think so. But if she remained Naraku would try to taint her and turn her against her friends. Her falling into _his_ hands was worth their lives… wasn't it? A sigh. _What do I do?_ The question reverberated through her mind until she heard a yip within her own head. _Hello Hikari._ That was the name which she'd deemed was the kit's. During her time as a captive, she'd decided on why there was even a kitsune in her mind. Like Kirara, this kit had a special feel to it. The kit was a soul animal, or spirit beast as some could call it. Though this was an animal born _of_ the soul, not from it's _energy_.

The little kit yipped again and rubbed against her mind. Closing her eyes, she materialized next to the kit and picked her up. "What do you think little one? Do I kill humans to escape, or do I find another path?" The kit seemed to be in thought for a moment before it barked then yipped. "So I _should_ kill them?" Bark. "Won't that taint _me_?" Growl. "Are you sure?" Yip.

A sudden jerking sensation had her returning to the present as she opened her eyes to see the one she'd deemed 'asshole' was back to torment her. A heated glare was sent his way, but he merely smirked before digging his claws into her thighs. A growl tried escaping her throat at that as one thought crossed her mind. _Only Hiei can touch me there!_ Getting rather fed up with the 'asshole', she once again did something not so smart. She once again spit on him. Her action earned her a hard slap across the face.

He apparently didn't like when she stuck her tongue out at him after being slapped as he decided that she needed a harsher punishment. Moving to the wall of the 'cell' (_you mean torture chamber_) he grabbed a coiled leather whip with steel studs lining it's length. Kagome eyed the weapon as the demon smirked and gather several bottles of liquid. Able to catch a scent that wafted to her, she shivered on the inside at the idea of what it was. _Poison._ Turning back to face the wall, she steeled her nerves against what she knew would be coming. And she didn't have to wait long to feel the sting of the steel studs digging into the flesh of her back.

"I'd enjoy this more if you screamed my little miko." 'Asshole' said with a sadistic smile.

"I'd enjoy this more if it wasn't happening." She grumbled to herself, though it was loud enough for him to hear.

"But if this wasn't happening, you wouldn't be _able_ to enjoy it." The demon pointed out as he cracked the whip against her legs.

Groaning and screaming inside her mind, she made not a peep on the outside. Hikari was growling viciously as she felt Kagome's pain through her screams. The whip cracked against her flesh many more times before the man growled dangerously and glared at her. An evil glint suddenly passed through his eyes and he grabbed yet another liquid and managed to force her to drink it. He then ordered the guards to return her to her cell. They happily complied as that meant they had a chance to touch her.

It was hours later and she knew that she was in trouble. Her head was spinning as her eyes blurred. She knew that it was poison that the demon had forced her to drink, and it was causing quite a few problems. A squeaking sound had her turning to the cell's door as her mind began blurring. An image of Inuyasha stood there, smiling softly at her. His normally gruff features holding a soft and caring look as he looked at her. "Kagome, are you alright?"

"Inu… yasha?" Her voice whispered the name questioningly as her mind blurred further. Oh how she hated poison.

"Hai Kagome. I've come to save you." He whispered as he leaned down to kiss her.

**Smack!** "Don't fucking touch me!" Inside her fuzzy mind she was snickering like crazy at her own words.

'Inuyasha' pulled back from her and glared before slapping her as he transformed back into being 'asshole'. "How did you know bitch?"

"Ah…" That's a very good question. "I didn't." It was the only logical response since it was the truth. Mentally shrugging through all the haze she looked up into his glaring face. When he went to smack her again, she smacked his hand away and sat up. "Get out of my room!"

He quirked a brow at her. _She's delirious._ The thought passed through his mind before he smirked darkly and mentally shrugged. Quickly pinning her, he pressed his lips to hers. It'd be so easy to take her right then and there, I mean she was barely wearing anything since her clothes were completely ruined. At least it should have been easy. When he let off the kiss he smirked and licked his lips. "Delicious."

The girl smiled at him, and it seemed pretty innocent. Too bad he didn't realize what that meant. Lifting her hand to him, she smirked and a blast of spirit energy shot from her palm and through his body. Giggling at his stupidity, she pulled herself to her feet and started to leave the cell. Three human guards were in the hall and instantly tried to stop her, which resulted in her using the same attack on them. It's actually starting to look more like she was drugged then poisoned.

Kagome quickly made her way outside and blasted anything that tried to stop her. It was a rather interesting sight though. An injured woman taking down anything in her path simply because she seemed high and unlike herself. Though she did stop to gather a bow and several quivers of arrows proclaiming that one needed to be careful upon entering a forest. Yeah, bad guys shouldn't poison her anymore.

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"Just leave it!" A silver haired man with large furry ears and a tail shouted as he looked to his violet eyed friend.

Said friend had long black hair and black leathery wings sprouting from his back. He looked to the silver haired demon with pained eyes. "I can't." Turning quickly he made a grab for the blood red pendant, only to get stabbed through with several bamboo spears.

"Kuronue!" Shouted the silver haired and golden eyed demon as he started to run to the dark haired one.

"No! Run Youko! Leave me!" The dark haired one hollered with a pained voice. The kitsune looked torn but one final shout from his friend had him turning, only looking back with sad eyes before he disappeared from sight.

Several men appeared carrying more bamboo spears and glaring at him. He looked at them with a calm coldness in his eyes that made them glade harder. Just as they were about to plunge more spears into his body, a voice called out; telling them to stop. "Just what are you doing?"

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Several hours since Kagome had 'escaped' the castle, found her laying in an unknown clearing. Slowly her eyes opened and there was a searing pain in her head. "Ugh… Where am I?" Her voice slurred slightly as she looked around, now completely confused on where she was. Fractured memories returned to her and she realized that she'd somehow managed to escape. Giving up on that line of thought, she pushed herself up to her feet and looked around the clearing that she was in. A distant noise alerted her to there being someone nearby, and she was of course curious, so she made her way to it. What she saw shocked her a lot. Men, tainted men, were glaring down at an amazingly untainted youkai. They were about to kill him when she called out to them, commanding that they stop. "Just what are you doing?"

The men all turned to look at her and their eyes instantly held lust as they looked upon her figure. She growled as she noticed their auras darken with ill intent. "Are you out here all alone?"

"Yes, you could return to the castle with us." Stated another man.

"Let me think… no." She said before drawing her bow and rapidly firing several arrows in succession. The arrows sparked to life with her miko ki and easily injured the humans, knocking them unconscious. With that done, she turned to the demon and quickly raced to his side. He looked at her with a cool calmness that she almost laughed at. After assessing the demon's wounds, she decided that the one in his ankle was worse as it had hit an artery and he'd die in a few minutes if it wasn't treated. Quickly grasping the spear, she yanked it out and placed her hands over the wound. Somehow she managed to call forth her healing powers and fixed that wound. Then she turned her attention to the rest of his injuries and began yanking spears out.

"Why are you helping me miko?"

"Kagome."

"What?"

"My name, it's Kagome."

"Why are you helping me… Kagome?"

"Why wouldn't I?" She questioned as she ripped strips from her torn and already ruined kimono in order to bandage the demon. "Now these bandages won't be the best, but I don't really have any supplies."

The bat demon merely nodded as his mind suddenly started fogging. Blood loss was beginning to take it's toll on him, but he managed to remain conscious though his mind was fuzzy. Once she had managed to stop most of the bleeding, she helped him up, grabbed the necklace that was on the ground, then started moving away from where they were at. It wouldn't be wise to wait around for more men to appear, it'd be completely stupid.

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Shippo was distraught over not being able to find Kagome, and wouldn't quit crying. Miroku had to continuously comfort Sango who was stressed out and going between screaming and crying. Inuyasha would growl whenever anyone said anything about it. Their search turned nothing up, and it had taken close to a day for Miroku to get over the affects of the poison. Inuyasha had tried to take the shards from Shippo, but found himself surrounded in blue flames as the little kit growled at him.

It didn't help that the group was constantly being attacked. Miroku and Sango had several wounds, Shippo had the most since he wouldn't let anyone else take the jewel shards, and Inuyasha had the least since he did the most damage to whatever came after them. If things kept going the way they were, Miroku was worried for the little kit. Demons were constantly going after the fox, but still he refused to give up the shards.

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"Ji-chan!" Souta screamed as he raced to the older man and slid to his knees at his side. "Okaa-san! Call an ambulance!"

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_It was cold and she was shivering as she walked through the many trees in the forest of the park. It was dark, but she didn't care as all she wanted to do was run. A few tears trailed down her face, but they were quickly wiped away as she continued through the trees. Images of the scene she walked into replayed through her mind. Once again Inuyasha had been kissing Kikyo, only this time it was going farther as their hands were roaming bodies. The girl was annoyed at how her own body ached to be touched. She was sixteen and she wanted to know what it was like. Though she had been saving herself for Inuyasha, she decided that she couldn't… no wouldn't wait for him._

_Plopping down on the ground, she sighed and looked at the little pond not two feet in front of her. The water shimmered as the moonlight drifted over it's shiny surface. A red glow off to the side caught her attention and she turned to it, only to be shocked at what it was. Blood. Moving quickly to her feet she followed the trail while gripping the straps of her book bag. It was a surprise for her to come upon what looked to be a young man. He had hair that stuck up, seemingly only to defy the very laws of gravity. Edging nearer, she noticed that he was injured. The surrounding moonlight shifted so that she had the perfect view of his features and she nearly gasped at how handsome he looked. Shadows played across his soft sleep coated features making him look almost angelic, but looking to his hands she knew better. Fingers tipped with claws was a giveaway that this man was in fact a demon._

_Stretching one hand toward him, she slowly allowed her fingers to trace along his jaw before she blushed and jerked the appendage back. Her other hand cupped her wrist as her eyes once again took him in. Realizing that he was still bleeding pretty badly, she snapped herself from her daze and pulled her bag to where it was in front of her. Searching through it quickly, she pulled out her first aid kit as well as a small dagger that she kept with her for emergencies._

_Shoving the bag aside, she pulled her first aid kit to her side and moved to him. The shirt he wore was very torn and practically useless. Taking her dagger, she quickly divested him of the useless item so that she could see his wounds. A large gash trailed across his stomach, which she blushed at seeing. Shaking her head of the rather _impure_ thoughts that were crossing her mind, she pulled out disinfectant, antibiotics, and bandages. When she was done with his stomach, she moved onto the other injuries, including a deep wound to his chest._

_With a sigh she grabbed her pack and pulled out a soft plush blanket, she spread it out so that she could move the demon onto it. Once that was accomplished, she moved to treating the few injuries which littered his back. Her blush returned full force when she realized that there was also an injury on his leg. It was rather funny to see how red she went. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she reached for his belts and quickly undid them. Before doing anything else, she gathered another blanket and placed it over him, _then_ she pulled his pants down._

_She was happy that she had a way to cover him. Working quickly, she sewed the deep slice on his inner thigh shut. A bandage was placed over it before she quickly slid his pants back up. All that went through her mind was that she was _so_ glad that he was asleep and no one was here. Taking several more deep breaths, she rolled the demon onto his back and covered him with another spare blanket before pulling out a blanket for herself as she leaned her back against a nearby tree. Closing her eyes, she fell into a light sleep._

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Kagome jumped awake as she looked around before groaning as the pain in her back hit her full force. She was starting to miss the poison that had rendered her unable to feel the pain. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she stood with a slight wince and moved to the demon who was also with her in the little cave. He seemed to be doing alright, though his clothing was completely ruined. With a sigh to herself, she looked down at her own rags before a small smirk appeared on her lips. Moving towards where she had been laying, she picked up several bags of coins and started snickering. _Guess they should've listened to me._ Heading for the cave entrance, she decided to see if there was a town nearby. Hopefully there was so that she'd be able to buy some clothing. Clothing would be good.

An hour later saw her grumbling. The only thing nearby was a shrine, so now she sported miko robes… Did she mention that she _hated_ miko robes? But then again, it was at least something to wear that covered her. The miko at the temple had asked what had happened to her, so she gave a little information about being in a battle with a demon and getting dragged out here before she could kill it. When offered shelter, she kindly declined, mentioning that she needed to return to her village.

At least the other miko had been nice and given her some food for her 'journey'. Making her way back to the cave was easy enough, mainly because she was ignoring her pain and pushing it to the back of her mind. When she made it to the cave entrance, she sighed and moved to set a few things down before grabbing the bow and a quiver. Making her way back outside, she started looking for herbs to use to heal the demon inside.

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Five days passed before the bat demon awoke. He looked around cautiously before remembering what happened before. It was still dark out, but signs of light were beginning to creep up and enter the world. Looking around himself, he found no one to be in the cave with him. Though he _knew_ a girl had helped him here, a miko if he remembered correctly. _Speak of the devil._ The girl had just walked in wearing miko robes and carrying several rabbits.

After a moment she looked up at him and gave a kind smile. "Hello youkai-sama, I'm not sure if you remember but I am Kagome. Are you feeling any better?" As she spoke, she neared him till she kneeled down next to him.

"I am fine." The demon murmured before taking in her form. "Though I doubt I'm as fine as you, my lady."

_Talk about smooth, he even kissed my hand._ A dark blush stained her cheeks as she looked down to the ground. Though she did have a lover, she wasn't use to such compliments. Rather, she wasn't use to _any_ compliments. "Umm… Thank-you." After fighting for control of her blush for a few moments, she looked back up at his face. "Are you hungry? I managed to catch a few rabbits."

"I am rather famished. How long have I been asleep?"

"Five days." The miko said calmly as she turned back to her catch and pulled out a dagger to skin and clean them. "Anyways, may I have your name, youkai-sama?"

"It's Kuronue, and quit with the formalities. I don't care for them much."

She smiled then. "Good, I don't really care for them either." He chuckled at her words and gave her a smile. When she looked back to him, she reached into her haori sleeve and pulled out the amulet that she'd found on the ground. "I'm not sure if this is yours, but I figured I'd grab it just in case."

Violet eyes looked at her in a thankful awe as he accepted the blood red jewel from her. "Thank-you Kagome, this is very precious to me."

"It's not a problem Kuronue." She practically whispered back before once more setting to her task. The bat smiled as he held the trinket in his hands. Several minutes later and the girl had a fire ready with a few rabbit on sticks. "Would you prefer raw, slightly cooked, or cooked?"

"Slightly cooked sounds good." The bat replied smoothly. "Out of curiosity, do you know of what happened to my partner?"

"Partner? No. There were only several humans nearby."

"So then, he must've gotten away."

"I didn't notice any other demons around, though I'm not quite adept at sensing them."

"Aren't you a priestess?"

"Sorta." The girl responded softly. "I learned of my powers close to two years ago and have been journeying on a mission ever since. My group and I are trying to reclaim a.. trinket if you will, as well as destroy a demon who has wronged many people. So, I'm not very well trained; though I am apprenticing to a monk and a demon slayer. The village miko of Edo also teaches me when we stop there. That village is sort of our home base."

"Edo?" The bat youkai questioned. "Where is that?"

A sigh. "The western lands."

"How did you manage to get into the southern lands then?"

"So that's where we are?" Kagome questioned thoughtfully before shaking her head. "I was kidnapped by a demon who wanted to hand me over to our enemy, and he brought me to some castle around here. It was at the base of some cliff and surrounded by a ningen village."

"Will you be returning to the west then?"

"Hai. I'm sure my group is searching for me."

"The monk and slayer?"

"Also a hanyou, kit, and nekomatta."

"You have an odd group."

"Hai, but we work well together." The girl commented as she added seasonings to the meat before handing two rabbits to Kuronue. "There, only slightly cooked."

"Thanks."

She gave a nod and waited for her food to get done before eating. With a smile, she then relaxed back against the cave wall. Looking to her youkai companion, her smile widened slightly. "So what shall you do now? Though know that you aren't leaving till I'm positive you're alright."

The at looked at her with a curious expression on his face after she spoke. "Why do you, a miko, care so much about me, a youkai?"

Kagome bit her lip for a moment as she thought about how to word her answer. "I do not think that everyone is bad, and I believe that we all have _some_ good; however small an amount. We are all living, breathing beings, and as of late I am redefining the way I look at things. In order to escape from the prison of which I was kept, I was forced to kill human men. I kill demons on a daily basis, and now I must also think of how I killed these animals for food. They were living and breathing, just like us. I could've picked some sort of plant, but I desired meat. Since this entire mess with being kidnapped, I've been asking myself if there is a difference between slaying evil demons and evil humans, especially when I see no difference between the species. So you see, I don't see you as any different from myself."

"You are an interesting ningen."

"I hear that a lot actually." She replied with a giggle.

He smiled at her as he, too, relaxed against the cave wall. "I'll be out of your hair in a few more days, then I'll go look for my partner." His violet eyes flicked to her before he spoke once more. "And as to your questioning, there is no difference."

"I've been coming to the same conclusion." She whispered as she allowed her eyes to slide shut and she went into a meditative trance. Once she was within her own mind, she once again began pushing some of her shenki into the void within her soul. Once that was done, she returned to her 'practice' area where she picked up the little kit and started calling forth her powers. Her reiki swirled around her form as it easily bent to her will. Deciding that she wanted to try something, she imagined a target inside her mind.

Once the target was set up, she focused her reiki into the palm of her hand and shot a blast. Shards of spirit energy collided with the target and it reminded her of the attack she used on 'asshole'. Come to think of it, she never did learn his name. Oh well. Ignoring that, she decided she'd try a new attack. Holding her hands like she would with a bow, she called power into her hands making one materialize in a shimmering blue color. Giggling to herself as the kit licked her ear from it's perch on her shoulder, she summoned shenki to form an arrow.

After a bit she decided she wanted to learn to use a sword. Summoning one made of energy was simple enough, then she closed her eyes and fell into a stance she'd seen Sango use. It was easy for her to go through the motions that she'd seen the slayer use, as there weren't many of them… and she was within her own mind. Of course she also tried to go through the moves she'd seen Sesshoumaru use. That resulted in her falling on her face. She _really_ needed a teacher for this. Shaking her head, she began performing them once more. This time resulted in her landing on her butt._ Fine. I'll go over them before doing them._

Closing her eyes, she easily pulled the moves through her mind so she could watch as they were performed. It was simple enough, and she memorized everything about them. While it wouldn't be the best style, she'd at least be able to defend herself if she could get this down. When her eyes opened, they held determination and she instantly dropped into a defensive stance she'd seen Sesshoumaru use. Next she started going through his moves that she'd seen. Amazingly she'd managed to stay on her feet.

It was probably several hours after she started her meditation that she allowed her eyes to open. Kuronue was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, though Kagome seriously doubted he was asleep. A smile touched her lips as she slowly rose to her feet before moving away from the wall. She noticed that the bat's eyes opened a little to look at her and she smiled at him. "I'm just going to stretch and practice some gymnastics."

"Some what?"

The girl sighed and shook her head. "Flexibility." Was her simple response before she began stretching. The bat merely watched as she bent forwards to touch her toes before bending backwards to touch the back of her feet. Her exercises were odd to him… and very arousing. Though he couldn't tell because of the miko robes, he was pretty sure that she had a lithe body.

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"Where the hell could that damn demon've taken her!" Inuyasha shouted as he glared at everything around him. It'd been almost a whole month sense Kagome had been kidnapped and the entire group was losing hope that they were ever going to find her.

"I don't know Inuyasha." Miroku said with a sigh as his wife collapsed into yet another fit of tears. He quickly moved to her side and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Kirara mewed as she nipped her mistress' ear in hopes of cheering her up some. Shippo sat on the ground just looking at the other with a blank face. His entire body was pale and dark circles lay beneath his eyes. He no longer spoke much, and the rest of the group was worried about him. Sango would whack Inuyasha with her weapon any time he even tried to get near the kit because she was afraid of what he'd try to do since said kit still retained Kagome's shard.

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The wind blew gently through the trees as a young woman in miko robes looked upon the border between the southern and central lands. It was with a defeated sigh that the miko crossed into the central territories. She so didn't want to be here, mainly because she was alone. _I should've accepted Kuronue's assistance. He _was_ willing to escort me._ Her and the bat youkai had become close while he recovered. It was amazing how close they got in a week. He'd promised to come visit her in Edo once he'd found Youko. Youko was a spirit kitsune who was his thieving partner.

She really didn't care that they were thieves, she only warned him about stealing from her. Her threat was that he'd find himself wearing a pretty beaded necklace if he even tried. When he questioned how a bead necklace was threatening, she told him of Inuyasha's pretty necklace. That's when he took the threat seriously. He also promised that he wouldn't steal from her, and neither would his partner.

At the moment though, she needed to concentrate on moving as quickly as she could through this land. From what she'd heard it was ruled by a man eating beast who devoured humans. That wasn't a very pleasant thought, and she didn't have very good control of her shenki yet; though her reiki control was rather good. She'd actually used her reiki to blast _several_ demons away from her. Even used it on some human bandits.

As it was, her progress was rather slow. Looking up at the sky, she sighed upon seeing that night was starting to fall. Moving into a deeper part of the woods, she started gathering what would be needed to make a camp. Once she had a fire going, she grabbed a bamboo canteen as well as her bow and headed out to hunt for something to eat. Hopefully she'd find something small since she wasn't all that hungry.

While she was hunting, she came across a group of demons that were attacking several… she'll use the word 'people'. The group consisted of two demons and several humans. None of the demons seemed to be doing well at fighting, but they also seemed to be somewhat young. With an annoyed sigh, she stepped out from the trees and into the demons' line of sight. "I suggest you leave that group alone."

"A miko." One of the demons hissed as it turned toward her.

_Had to be a snake demon._ Growling darkly at one of the demons who called her something that wasn't really nice, she turned to him with a glare. "That wasn't a very nice comment."

"Doesn't matter, you'll be dead soon." One of the other demons said in a voice tinted with amusement.

"Really?" Kagome asked in an innocent manner. When the demons agreed, she smiled sweetly. "If I do die soon, it won't be by your hands." She threw her own hands out and light shot from them. "Spirit Shards!" The attack destroyed all of the attacking demons, leaving the two who appeared to be with the group alone. Turning to said group, the girl smiled. "Are you all alright?"

"Thank you miko-sama! Thank-you so much!" One of the humans screamed as she turned toward the young woman.

"Please, call me Kagome."

"Thank you so much Kagome-sama. I was sure we were all as good as dead."

"It was nothing, I was simply in the area." Kagome replied with a slight smile. "Where are you headed?"

"To the capital." One of the other humans replied.

"Ah." The young miko replied. "I'm sort of heading that way… I think."

"You think?" Questioned one of the demons.

"I've really only been to the northern and western lands."

"Then why are you here in the central?" Questioned a human.

"It's a long story." The miko replied with a sigh. "Perhaps I could accompany you for part of the way though."

"You would travel with us?" Questioned another human as her eyes flickered between the two demons of their group.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"We are traveling with demons, Kagome-sama." Said a different human.

"I could care less. I protect, not destroy mindlessly."

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The journey to the capital took about a week and a half because of how slow the humans were. Kagome was grumbling about it since she wasn't use to traveling with ordinary humans. I mean you can't exactly call a monk and a demon slayer ordinary. Apparently one of the demons heard her grumbling about slow humans because he dropped to her side and was chuckling. "You complain about humans, yet you are one?"

Looking to the side, she sighed. "I'm used to more… athletic humans. I normally travel with two youkai, a hanyou, a taijiya, and a houshi."

"That would put your traveling standards quite high."

"Yes, so who are you again?" The miko questioned as she looked at the demon beside her curiously.

Chuckling, he replied "Hokushin."

"Alright." She replied with a nod. "Why are you traveling with humans anyways? The majority of demons I've met don't normally care for my kind."

"They were heading to the capital, and so were Toho and I. It's easier to travel in a group then simply by ourselves."

"Mind if I ask why you're heading to the capital?"

"In order to serve in the king's army."

"The king? He's a mazoku, right?"

"Hai."

"Don't mazoku normally eat humans for food?"

"Normally, but the king refuses to eat human flesh." Hokushin said quietly. "Would you stop him if he still did?"

"Depends upon the human he tries to eat." The miko murmured quietly, earning an odd look from the demon beside her. Giving him an amused smile, she slowly shook her head. "My opinions on wrong and right have been changing for a time now."

"What happened to cause such a change?"

"Well, I was kidnapped by a demon who used humans as guards. I ended up killing them with my reiki in order to escape. It was while I was their captive that I began questioning myself. I mean, I see demons and humans as equals, yet I'd only purify evil demons. It made no sense the more I thought about it."

"That is an interesting point of view."

"So how far away from the capital are we?"

"About two days at this pace."

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The city was simple, having towers and buildings made of stone and dirt. Humans and demons alike moved around in the village that surrounded the stone buildings. Sapphire blue eyes lightened as soon as she saw many stalls filled clothing. Hokushin quickly took her arm and kept her heading toward the main tower with them. "Come on Kagome, you're going to meet the lord."

"But I wanna buy a kimono!" The miko complained with a pout.

"You have your miko robes." The demon pointed out.

"But I _hate_ miko robes."

"Then why are you wearing them?"

"It's the only clothing I had."

"You can look around after you meet Lord Raizen."

Pouting more, she huffed. "You can be so evil."

"I _am_ a demon."

"Just because you're a demon doesn't make you evil." She huffed out as she shot a glare at him. "I'll have you know that I have demon for a lover."

Well that made Hokushin stumble. "But you're a miko! Miko can't have lovers!"

"Well I do!" She huffed out. "But don't say anything, I don't want my hanyou friend knowing quite yet."

"Your secret's safe with me, Kagome."

After a while they'd finally made it to the tower, and the two demons dragged her into it. It wasn't long before she was face to face with a _very_ powerful demon. His power made Sesshoumaru's look small in comparison. The demon had pure white hair, violet eyes, and tribal markings. Said demon was currently looking straight at them. "Who is this?"

"This is Lady Kagome, she's a miko who helped us to travel here."

"A miko?" The demon questioned with curiosity hinting through his voice.

"Hai Raizen-sama, I am a miko." Kagome responded as she smiled. "My name is Higurashi, Kagome."

The demon looked at her and he smirked. He could easily see the blue fire in her eyes that stated she was defiant, and he could tell that she was different from normal miko. "Where are you from?"

"The western lands."

"Then why are you in mine?"

"Long story, but to summarize I was kidnapped and taken to the southern lands."

"I assume you are returning to the west then?"

"Hai, I need to find my group… well, I mean friends."

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"Kimonos!!" The exclamation rang happily through the castle as Kagome opened the wardrobe in the guestroom she'd been given to use. Quickly picking one out, she rushed to the door and called for a servant so she could ask where she could bathe. With a happy smile, she was led through the castle to an underground spring where she immediately discarded her miko garments and dove into the hot water.

After soaking for close to an hour, she pulled herself out and quickly dried off before donning the beautiful violet kimono that she'd chosen. On the back was the mark of the mazoku, and symbol for the central lands. Looking around, she found that her original ensemble had disappeared, and she simply couldn't care what had happened to the outfit.

* * *

Hehehe… I made yet another chapter. This one is thirty chapters long and I hope that you enjoy it!

**shadow miko (Thanks for the compliment.)**

**WhiteDemoness11 (I'm glad you're enjoying it.)**

**Reads-way-2-much (Here's some more.)**

**Raine44354 (You've got to read to find out.)**

**KagHieiLuver (Perhaps.)**

**hermione (Thanks.)**

**cowgirlkitten2000 (You'll have to read to find out!)**

**OoOlady heatherOoO (I thank you for the kind words.)**

**Ebony Cassandra selene Riddle (I'll try to.)**

**Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami (I try my best to keep my fics interesting.)**

**Lovelywitch (Actually, the updates are only taking longer because I am busier as of late. I'm once again moving and am actually in another county this time. I also have a new boyfriend.)**


	4. Chapter IV

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter IV**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

**

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**Last Time:**

After soaking for close to an hour, she pulled herself out and quickly dried off before donning the beautiful violet kimono that she'd chosen. On the back was the mark of the mazoku, and symbol for the central lands. Looking around, she found that her original ensemble had disappeared, and she simply couldn't care what had happened to the outfit.

**This Time:**

"Have ye found any trace of the child?" Kaede questioned as she looked at them from her spot on the floor, sorting herbs.

"No, none." Miroku sighed as he dropped to the ground.

Shippo shook sadly as he decided that clinging to Sango would make him feel better. The pregnant slayer gently lifted him into her arms where she attempted to nuzzle him as a comforting gesture. Inuyasha had to be the one to make him start crying once more though by stating something that none of them wished to hear. "With her luck, she's either dead or still a captive of that demon." A sigh. "Worthless wench."

"Sit boy." **Bam!**"I am _not_ worthless Inuyasha." Everyone turned to the mat which acted as a door as a young woman entered. She had long raven hair that fell down to tickle the top of her butt, startling sapphire eyes, and a soft smile. She wore a pink kimono with violet stars patterned on it. Her blue eyes slowly turned to the shocked kit in the slayers embrace and softened immensely. "Shippo…"

As her arms opened, the kit quickly flung himself into her hold. "Momma! It's been months!"

"Shh… My little kit, I'm here and I'm alright."

"What happened to you… and your face?" Miroku questioned as he looked at the scar which ran the length of her cheek.

"I was held captive for two weeks before being poisoned. In that fuzzy state of mind, I managed to escape and fled toward the west. I ended up heading toward the central lands instead so as to avoid certain… demons that I was warned against. I had come across a wounded demon and nursed him back to health, taking only a week to do so. He warned me of the dangers of continuing on directly west. I again ended up helping more demons in the central lands and helped them and a group of humans make it to the capital. So I kind of got distracted a lot… and I got lost at one point."

"Then I'm not surprised it took ye so long to make it back to Edo." Kaede stated.

Looking at her friends, she gave a soft smile. "I told my family that I'd be home last week, so I'll need to return to them at some point tomorrow."

"Mommy!" Shippo cried out as he shook his head negatively and held onto her tightly.

"Hey runt, quit calling the bitch your mother!"

"Inuyasha, **sit boy!**" This time the hanyou slammed into the ground so hard that he was knocked unconscious. Shaking her head at his idiotic actions, she then turned to smile down at the now frozen kit. "I see you as my son Shippo, so ignore Inuyasha."

"Mommy." He sniffled as he started crying.

It appeared that the shock of her sudden appearance wore off as Kagome was instantly tackled by a partially fat slayer. "Showing already?" A giggle erupted as she looked at the now blushing and crying woman.

"Kagome-chan! I missed you so much! I was afraid that the demon had killed you!"

"How did you escape? And you never answered how you received that cut."

"I…" She started before pausing. A sigh escaped her lips as her eyes became downcast. "I harnessed my reiki and killed the demon holding me there… as well as the tainted human guards."

"You killed humans?" Miroku questioned as his eyes snapped up to her face.

"Hai, and my views have somewhat changed."

"What do you mean?" Sango asked calmly, though she refused to let go of the younger girl in her arms.

"Well, I see humans and demons as the same, yet I only purify the tainted demons. I plan to change that."

"Ye can see taint in auras, child?"

"Hai." She responded as she stroked her hands through Shippo's auburn hair in a soothing gesture.

"Momma?"

"Yes my little kit?" Kagome asked as her eyes met his emerald green.

He carefully reached into his vest and pulled out her bottle which held a singular shard and handed it to her. "Here."

"Thank-you Shippo." Pulling the cork out, she allowed the shard to drop into her open palm and they all watched as the previously pink shard turned pure white.

They all looked shocked, but Kaede gasped. "Ye have fully purified the shard of taint."

"She's right. There's no trace of any taint within it." Miroku agreed in amazement.

"Yes, it would have been easier if I could do that in the beginning." She mumbled with a pout before turning slightly so she could sit against the wall.

Sango gasped at that. "That's the symbol of the central lands."

"Hai, Lord Raizen gave it to me." Kagome stated as she closed her eyes. "Kaede, has anyone been here for me?"

"No. Are ye expecting someone?"

"Hai. A bat youkai and possibly a silver spirit kitsune." The others tensed. "I healed the bat and he went off in search of his friend, though he said he would come by to see me once he found word of said friend."

"You still haven't answered the question of what happened to your cheek, Kagome-sama."

"I was held captive and tortured Miroku-kun. Though I did learn to heal myself with shenki, I have not perfected the ability to the point of healing poisoned wounds. Though the poison does not affect me besides making the wound incapable of healing except by natural means."

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Stealth. What a fun way to get into her own house. With a giggle she managed to sneak into the front door and up to her room. _Too easy._ Making her way back downstairs and into the kitchen, she spooked her mother by surprising her. The sound drew her brother downstairs and he was thrilled to see her. He immediately begged her to train him some more with his shenki. Giggling, she gave a nod before stating that she wished to shower first.

Twenty minutes later saw the two outside with both wearing fighting outfits. Slowly she taught him what she know of controlling shenki before they moved onto controlling reiki. Like her, it was simple for him so pick up. Since he was catching on quickly, she decided that she'd treat him to ice cream and that they could look for some boken while they were out. Which they did find, and they headed toward the forest with their ice cream in hand.

It was funny that neither could sense that people were at the spot where they were heading, but they did finish their frozen treats by the time they made it there. Upon reaching their little clearing, Souta pulled out the two wooden swords and chucked one at his sister who effortlessly dodged. "Gotta do better than that to hit _me_ Souta."

"Sango taught you this, right?" The boy questioned as he stood with a firm grip on his sword.

"Nope." She replied with a smile as she walked over to him. "Ok," she started as she moved his body into the proper stance before looking at his grip. "You're gripping the hilt too tight, it'll make it easier to knock it from your grip." The boy immediately loosened his hold and the girl nodded before moving to grab her own boken. "Right."

"If Sango didn't teach you, who did?"

"Well, I made my own style from techniques I saw others use. You see, the group and I got separated and I needed to be able to protect myself."

"Did you get that scar from a demon then?" Souta questioned as he looked to her face.

Unnoticed to them, two pairs of eyes widened at that question. The girl though, smirked and nodded. "Stupid idiot, and I never did get his name."

"Did Inuyasha kill him?"

"Nope, I did." She stated proudly.

"How?"

"Want me to show you?" He nodded. With a smile, she raised her hand and pointed away from them, and their unknown specters. "Spirit shards." Dark blue blades flowed from her hand like little crystal spears and they sailed in the opposite direction, destroying some of the land in front of her.

"Who taught you that?"

"Well, Miroku-kun _had_ been teaching me to control reiki, but I made the attack up to escape that stupid jerk when he tried seducing me." She shivered in disgust at the thought. "Idiot thought that I still liked Inuyasha."

"So what happened?"

"Are we practicing or talking?"

"Can we do both?"

Kagome smirked, causing Souta to back away. "Sure." She charged. The boy yelped and jumped back and out of the way. "We were attacked by demons for some unknown reason, and they tried taking me. I learned a _very_ valuable lesson."

"What's that?" The boy questioned as he blocked yet another strike.

"_Never_ mix large amounts of shenki and reiki. It causes a massive explosion and gives one a headache." The boy snickered, causing the young woman to glare at him. "It's not funny you little brat!"

"Little? I'm taller than you are!"

"Are you implying _I'm_ short?" She demanded as she knocked the wooden sword from his hand and smacked him in the side with her own.

Souta winced as he rubbed his sore side. "Were you even trying to beat me?"

"Ah… no."

"I didn't think so." He said with a sigh. "Can I watch you practice?"

"I suppose." She replied before closing her eyes and falling into a fighting stance. Her movements were fluid and graceful as she twirled and twisted. It looked like she was a master with the weapon. Souta was simply awed at her abilities. She made it seem almost like she was dancing, and it looked beautiful. When her eyes opened, she started pouting. "This is easier with a real sword."

"Since you're done, will you teach me to do that reiki blast now?"

"I suppose that I could. All you really have to do is focus your energy into the palm of your hand and imagine it being little shards."

"Alright." The boy said as he closed his eyes and focused his energy. A pale blue light barely shot from his hand and he pouted as he looked at the 'damage' it did.

"Don't worry Souta, it takes practice."

"Yeah, and I guess we should get home so we can have dinner."

"Yeah, then I have somewhere to be."

"Going to see your boyfriend?"

"Hai." _I give up on explaining the situation._

**/\**

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_**(Hiei?)**_ Kagome was happy, she hadn't been zapped when she'd opened the link. Yip! _Hikari, shh…_

_**/Kagome./**_ A voice replied. _**/I haven't heard from you in a while./**_

_**(I've been.. busy.) **_She responded as one hand rose to the scar on her face._** (But I'm home now.)**_

_**/I'll be there in a few./**_

_**(I'll be waiting.)**_ The girl replied happily before the link closed. With a smile, she locked her bedroom door and relaxed on her soft bed. Hiei came in through her window not long after and she kept her eyes closed, partially afraid of what he'd say about the scar on her face. _Or worse, the ones on the rest of my body._

Currently the hi youkai was looking at the scar on her cheek. His hand slowly moved to brush against the ruined flesh before his eyes hardened and he looked at her. "What happened?"

"A demon attacked me." Her voice softly whispered out. "I have more scars than just this one." A pale hand slowly rose to touch the visible flaw. "I'm sorry that I was weak."

His eyes softened when he noticed her defeated look. "Hn. It doesn't matter." Pulling her up into his arms, he kissed her deeply. The kiss was soft, yet passionate. The girl responded quickly and soon the kiss turned more urgent, and Kagome slowly started removing the demon's clothing. When he went to remove hers, she winced slightly and tried to stop him… Not the best idea as he does have claws. His crimson eyes widened as he saw the scars that now covered her body.

The girl closed her eyes in shame, scared of seeing his features change to show disgust. But was surprised when he simply began tracing the scars with his lips. Tears leaked from her eyes as he did so, making her feel immensely happy. She didn't notice as he paused and his eyes widened in an almost stunned shock. She somehow sent her thoughts through their link without meaning to. _He doesn't mind the scars… Oh I love you Hiei!_

**/\**

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The moon was high in the sky as Hiei lay in his lover's bed. The girl was pressed up against him and his arm was wrapped around her, making sure she remained in the position of laying on his chest. One of her legs were thrown over both of his, and she was holding onto him like she was afraid he'd disappear. His mind was elsewhere though, trying to figure out what he was going to do about her feelings for him. If truth be told, he could see her as being more than a mere lover.

Weighing his choices, he decided that he'd try something he never thought he would. He'd court a ningen. Of course she wasn't a normal ningen, but she was still ningen. Looking at her face, he allowed his hand to gently trail across her scarred cheek. The girl turned into the touch and gave a content sigh as her body relaxed farther. While it still felt strange to have her complete trust, he was glad that he did. Though he doubted that it'd be very difficult to garner it.

His fingers once again traced along the scar that adorned her face before moving to trace the ones that lingered along her body. Some looked like whip lacerations and a few even looked to be from a sword, though it appeared as if she hadn't fought back. His gaze shifted to her hands that had slight scarring wrapping around them, this led him to the idea that she was bound when it happened. Now that he paid closer attention to her, he could tell that there was something different in her aura. Though he'd not seen any taint since they'd 'gotten together', it now appeared as if she was exceedingly pure. Yet there was also something different about this purity. It was _strange_.

His hand once more traced along the scars that covered her body as she curled closer to him. A faint memory that was clouded passed into his mind of extreme pain, yet he heard nothing as the pain continued. Then a voice spoke in a malicious tone of how being silent was not helping any. When the vision passed, Hiei's eyes widened as he looked down at the girl in his arms. _She was tortured but never uttered a single sound?_ That was rather impressive to him, though he also felt the urge to find her torturer and rip him limb from limb.

That brought up another question within his mind. If she has a hanyou protector, how was she tortured? And also, how did she get away? Not to mention why she hadn't contacted him. Had she thought he wouldn't come for her? Did she think so little of her self that she thought she had no right to demand he come save her? Or was it simply that she was to ashamed to ask for help? So many questions passed through his mind, but he wasn't getting any answers at the moment. His hand once again trailed across the scar that lay upon her face in hopes that it would provide answers. That's when he realized that the scar was caused by a claw. Probably the claw of a demon.

With a mental sigh, he lay back beside her and relaxed as his arms tightened around her smaller form. Soon, soon he would ask permission to court her. She deserved having a proper courting period, at least he thought she did. Usually when a male demon chose a female human, they'd simply mark them. When a male demon chose a female demon though, they would show them respect by asking permission to court them. While the girl wasn't a demon, she wasn't a normal human either.

**/\**

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Sunlight streamed through the open window as the girl tried to remain asleep by burying her face into the soft pillow. That is what actually woke her. The loss of something she knew should be there. Slowly her eyes opened and she looked around to find her lover, but he simply was no where to be seen. Pushing herself up onto hands, she looked out the window, but couldn't see his black clothed form resting in the trees either. With a depressed sigh, she allowed her body to drop back down onto the comfortable bed.

After a few more moments she finally managed to pull herself into a sitting position. After that she began looking around her room for something, but didn't manage to find whatever it was before she stood and moved to her dresser. Opening the top drawer, she pulled out a pair of black thongs and a matching black bra. _How'd Yuka talk me into getting these again?_ Shrugging mentally, she slipped them on before moving to her closet to find something to wear. It was with a sigh that she pulled out a kimono she'd hung up yesterday morning. Raizen had bought it for her, and it didn't have the northern symbol sewn onto it.

The soft silk of the kimono felt wonderful against her skin as she pulled it on. The silk was a deep midnight blue, almost violet color that had little golden kitsune patterned onto it. An auburn colored obi was used to tie the pristine silk closed as she turned to look in her mirror. Her ruby red lips and sapphire eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked over her outfit. A soft smile appeared as she thought that the patterns reminded her of a certain little kit.

After a few moments, her mind turned to her hair as it still fell untamed down her back. Reaching for a brush, she slowly removed the tangles from it before reaching for a hair tie. Shifting her hair to lay on her shoulder, she slowly began to braid it. Once she was finished, she allowed her hair to remain laying across her shoulder before rising from her chair and moving to look out the window. Golden tendrils of light slid over her pale skinned form as she smiled at the cooling breeze.

After several moments of just leaning against the windowsill, she gave a sad smile and turned to leave her room. It was time to visit her grandfather in the hospital and wish him well. Before leaving, she grabbed a pair of tabi socks and sandals. Normally she wouldn't wear something like this in her time, but she wanted to look special for her grandfather as she wasn't there when he became ill. Once she made it to the door, she sat and pulled the tabi socks on before slipping the sandals on and walking out the door. She knew that her mother wouldn't worry, for her mother had no reason to do so.

Once she'd descended the many steps that led up to the Higurashi property, she turned to head into town. The sidewalk wasn't overly crowded as the sun had only risen moments ago. Her journey was long, and seemingly slow as she appeared to not have a care in the world. Those who were already out were glancing at her oddly as she _was_ wearing more traditional clothing, such as the kimono. Not only that, but the silky fabric _did_ look rather expensive and she did have that scar on her face.

Her left hand slowly rose to trace along the pink line that marred her pale porcelain skin._ I need to find a way to rid myself of these horrid scars._ To her, they were unsightly. Especially when she didn't want Hiei to leave her because she was so ugly, though he hadn't seemed to mind the scars that littered the entirety of her body. _I'll look through ji-san's scrolls when I return to the shrine._ Once she decided that, she allowed her hand to fall to her side.

Nearing the park, she smiled as she thought of how she'd met her lover that night all those months ago. It seemed so long, and yet it wasn't. She also remembered how she'd come to be in this time on that night in the first place. It was all because of Inuyasha. He had once again gone to Kikyo and she had followed, not noticing the shinidamachu that encircled the area. It was that night that she found them in each others' arms. They were kissing passionately when she came upon them, and Inuyasha's hands had been reaching for the hem of Kikyo's hoari.

The pure white top of the undead woman's miko garb fell apart, pooling around her elbows before she had allowed the cloth to slip from her snow white skin. Inuyasha had kissed a path down the undead miko's chest as his hands reached for the ties of her red hakama. That's when she bolted, not able to take any more of what she had been seeing. Branches whipped at her body as she quickly pushed through the greenery in an attempt to escape the images that had replayed through her mind.

Her imagination had also kicked in and began showing her images of the two mating. It tore at her heart to know that the man she loved was making love to a corpse. A body made of nothing but dirt and graveyard soil, yet was saturated in the scent of death. What made her feel worse was that it was Kikyo, her former incarnation and a woman who shared her soul. Tears threatened to fall as she thought of how she wished Kikyo would simply disappear, before yelling at herself for even thinking suck thoughts. She wasn't that despicable of a person to wish for someone's death simply so that she herself would be happy. _Besides, he'd only ever see me as Kikyo… or a pale comparison._

Her thoughts tormented her before she found herself at the clearing with the well. Her yellow book bag was on her back as she had grabbed it before heading after Inuyasha, intent on informing that she was returning home while they were near the well. Her hands moved up to grip the straps of her pack as she took off and jumped into the wooden frame of the well. A blue light surrounded her and she found herself back in her own time.

Climbing from within the dark depths of the well, she stood there for a moment with tears coming to her eyes at the thought of facing anyone right now. No, she didn't want to face her family. Not now. With this thought, she cracked open the well house door and looked around. When she was sure the coast was clear, she stepped outside and slid the door shut before quickly making her way to the steps and off the property. Navigating her way through the dark city, she had quickly came to a nearby park that had a thick forest. She'd entered it and started walking aimlessly through the trees.

That was how it was. She'd ran from Inuyasha, and straight into Hiei. The hi youkai had been there when she needed something, and he had given it to her. She can still remember that first time, he hadn't been in control of his actions. His instincts had been ruling his movements and she knew this as his eyes had been a deep shade of red. No white was visible within those crimson depths as he'd looked at her. He could've killed her in an instant and she'd known that, and still she'd shown no fear. Only felt acceptance as those dark eyes had looked upon her in hunger.

She'd felt his aura and knew what it was. It was strange that she'd come across a demon that was in the middle of a heat cycle. He was a lusting demon who had been turning that lust into blood lust and slaughtering any lower class demons that he'd come across. When those eyes had turned to her and she'd looked into those glowing depths with the knowledge of what was wrong, she'd reacted instantly on instinct. If his lust wasn't appeased he'd probably start killing nearby humans. Moving her hair and tilting her head to the side, she bared her neck to him. A symbol of submission that she'd learned from inu youkai.

That's what started the whole thing, that single night where she'd submitted to his will. The night she'd fled from Inuyasha and straight into the hands of a lusting demon. That night she'd felt what it was like to be wanted. No, to be _needed_. Hiei had _needed_ her that night. Looking back, she realized that she had _needed_ that night as well. It'd freed her from everything, all there had been was she and him.

**

* * *

**

Here's the four chapter of 'Shifting Times'. It took a lot of time to think of that name. I finally settled on it when it seemed to be the only thing that really fit. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and have also enjoyed the last three. I'd also like to thank anyone who's reviewed and/or read this story.

**Music ADD (Ah… The question about Kuroune ****J**** lol. I'm afraid that I can't yet answer that though. I am in need of saying sorry though, I haven't updated in a long time and I have several chapters written for this story. I won't be posting the next one until I have several reviews though.)**

**Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami (Ah, I have altered a few things, but you'll find out in a later chapter as I already have several typed up. You have some really good questions here, and a few will be answered in following chapters. As for the communicating with Hiei, she blocked the link so that he wouldn't be able to sense her pain when they spoke. And no, he's not suspicious because he has his own things to attend to.)**

**Cowgirlkitten2000 (I'm trying to slowly ease her into power so it doesn't look like she was just becoming God or something like that. And I'll try to keep a steady pace with the story, I'm trying to give good lengthy chapters.)**

**Koori Youkai Hime (Here's the update.)**

**G2fan (Thank-you, here is another one.)**

**Robertaa198923 (Oh, I plan to. I'm making sure I give some good descriptions and pay close attention to detail.)**

**ILoveAnime89 (Here's the net update.)**

**Reads-way-2-much (I'm sorry I didn't update for you sooner, I've just been busy and have had a lot on my mind.)**

**XxXTwilight-SinXxX (The more I read, the more ideas I get, and the more my style changes, soon I may begin writing a book. Don't worry though, I won't forget about my stories here.)**

**Asian Tinkerbell (Hiei will not make an appearance in every chapter.)**

**OoOlady heatherOoO (I highly doubt that I'm the best, but here is the next chapter. If I get enough reviews, I may update again within the week.)**

**Raine44354 (Uh huh, and he'll be making a few appearances in this story. Right now he's trying out, but if he's good enough I may just give him a star role.)**

**KagHieiLuver (When did I say I was in a different country? Anyways, lazy one, here's another chapter for you.)**

**hermonine (I'll try to update faster this time. I have a few updates ready, but I'd like a few reviews before I post them.)**

**Evil RULZ (I'll update again soon, I'm sorry that it took so long. And just to warn you, this story will be moving along somewhat slowly.)**

**wolfsaver-ladey (Lol, here' san update.)**

**Ai Megami Murasaki (Here's another one.)**

**Kage Hasu (Ah… So many questions lol, all will be answered in the chapters that follow. Like I said in an earlier reply, I'm trying to cover every detail.)**

**WhiteDemoness11 (Plaything? Anyways, things will be shown in the coming chapters.)**

**Kagome Lady of Darkness (Thank-you.)**

**43InuAsha (Good question, but you'll find out if you keep reading.)**

**zoey tamagachi (Here's the next update.)**

**shadow miko (Here it is.)**

**Lina03 (I'm glad that you enjoy my writing. Here's another update.)**

**Saki-myamoko (Lol, yes, three hours is a long time.)**

**LuLuCrazeD (Yeah, I was trying to make the story a more enjoyable read. I'm glad you enjoyed it.)**


	5. Chapter V

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter V**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

_**

* * *

**_

**Last Time:**

That's what started the whole thing, that single night where she'd submitted to his will. The night she'd fled from Inuyasha and straight into the hands of a lusting demon. That night she'd felt what it was like to be wanted. No, to be _needed_. Hiei had _needed_ her that night. Looking back, she realized that she had _needed_ that night as well. It'd freed her from everything, all there had been was she and him.

**This Time:**

_Something was pulling at her senses, warning her that she needed to wake. Judging by the way she felt, it hadn't been more than two hours since she'd fallen asleep. Slowly her eyes opened and she looked over the injured demon. He still appeared to be asleep though, so what was urging her to wake. Her answer came when she heard deep growling coming from the wounded man. Looking over at him, she noticed that he'd tensed and was just now beginning to wake. His eyes snapped open and she nearly gasped at seeing that they were entirely a deep blood red. His twin red orbs focused on her and her eyes traveled over him before realizing something. There was a bulge in his black pants and his claws were lengthening._

_ Her sapphire eyes slowly returned to his glowing rubies as two and two came together. She'd heard of this from Kaede. The demon before her was obviously in a heat cycle, and was lusting after something. Namely his body required fulfillment and judging by his blood covered state, he had been turning sexual lust into blood lust and killing demons. Since his eyes were completely red, she'd guess that his instincts were taking over and demanding that he rut. If he didn't, he'd probably start killing the surrounding humans._

_ Knowing that he was in a complete state of need and that need had to be sated, she moved her long ink colored strands from the side of her neck and tilted her head in an act of submission as she kept her blue eyes locked on his glowing red. His eyes seemed to darken in color as his lust became more prominent. His wounded body slowly moved closer to hers as his lips made their way to her throat. She held her breath as she felt his own against her exposed flesh. Hers was released slowly as she felt him lick the bared skin. He'd accepted her offer of submission._

_ His hands reached for her shirt, but she quickly intercepted, causing him to growl. Before he could do anything, she quickly pulled off her own top as well as her bra and tossed them aside quickly. Her reasoning was that she'd prefer them to be in one piece when she needed them in the morning. His eyes trailed across her now exposed flesh, easily taking in the only scar which marred her perfect flesh. A star-burst shaped white-pink mark which rested on her side._

_ His eyes then traveled back up to the round breasts which looked delicious to his lust induced mind. Leaning down, he took one of the pink nipples into his mouth and began suckling, causing the girl to gasp as the sensations coursed through her. One of his arms encircled her middle, pulling her closer as the other reached for her unattended breast. She felt as the rough and slightly calloused hand began massaging her soft flesh, and another gasp was pulled from her lips._

_ Soon his mouth moved to the other nipple and a hand rose to continue torturing her other hardened pink bud. When he sucked harder and pinched her other nipple between his fingers, she moaned and her hands raised to grip his shoulders. These sensations were all so new to her and she hadn't any idea that these simple actions could make her feel like this. Already her body was yearning for more. She felt as the hand holding her in place slid down to her skirt and tugged on it. Slowly her own hand slid down and unzipped the cloth, allowing him to simply push them and her panties down her body._

_ His hand slowly slid to her thigh and she could've swore that the appendage was warming up, getting hotter the closer it got to her hidden treasure. When his mouth stopped it's ministrations to her breast, she whimpered in protest. The demon slowly pushed her body back so that she was laying down and finished pulling her skirt and panties off before tossing them aside. The ground was cool and hard as it touched her completely bared skin. However her eyes were glued to the demon before her as he rose and undid his pants, removing them quickly before returning to her body. He kneeled between her legs and lowered his mouth to her core. A slight gasp that turned into a moan escaped her lips as his tongue touched her folds._

_ His tongue continued exploring her nether region before it ran across something that had Kagome moaning deeply. Soon his tongue was attacking the little bundle of nerves before he sucked it into his mouth. She barely registered his probing fingers or the fact that two were currently pumping in and out of her. A third was soon added as he nibbled on her clit. Fire shot through her body as the knot in her stomach coiled tighter. Any more and she felt that she would burst. And burst she did. He tugged harshly on the little bundle of nerves and she exploded into his mouth as she bit her bottom lip to contain her pleasure filled scream._

_ The demon growled in approval at her taste as he slowly slid up her body and positioned his heated member at her wet and quivering core. Leaning down, he claimed her lips in a demanding kiss as he rammed his hardened length into her. She tensed, but showed no other signs of pain, though he stilled to give her a few moments with which to adjust. When she shifted a few moments later and gave a moan, he began moving within her. He rocked in and out as he continued kissing her._

_ Releasing her mouth when she required air, he moved his lips to her neck as his rhythm remained steady. The girl started lifting her hips to meet his thrusts which resulted in his cock rubbing against that little bundle of nerves which had her stomach tightening once more. He felt as her inner muscles started gripping his length, and he started driving into her harder and faster. Soon she couldn't keep up, but kept her hips tilted so he continued to hit against that sensitive spot._

_ The girl felt as her world practically went black as her inner muscles tightened and her orgasm slammed into her. A slight pain went through her shoulder as she felt the demon on top of her slam his member deep within her and his hips jerked slightly. It felt like something hot and sticky had just went off within her and she understood that the demon had orgasmed as well. It was several minutes before her eyes opened and she attempted to move. It was difficult to do, however, when the demon was still lying on top of her._

_ She felt as his member twitched within her, still being hard even after ejaculating once already. She knew that it meant he would still require more to be sated. After another minute, she closed her eyes and willed her inner muscles to tighten around his still hard cock. He groaned as she also slid her smooth leg against his side in offering. He readily accepted as he once more began moving within her. It continued like this, his member remaining within her once they were finished. Her taking a few moments to rest before once more offering her body in an attempt to sate his lust. Her persistence soon paid off as the demon collapsed on top of her, finally spent and not having anymore to give. Though his hold on her tightened as he rolled onto his back with her on top and his member still buried within her._

_ When his eyes finally closed and sleep overtook him, she tried to move but his hold held her tight. Giving up on the prospect of redressing before he once again woke, she reached for the nearby blanket and covered them up as she prayed no one would come across them, as it would be terribly embarrassing for her. Laying her head down on his chest, making sure to be careful of his wounds, she allowed her own sapphire eyes to close in exhaustion and sleep to take her away from what was going on._

_ It was a few hours later when crimson eyes slowly opened to take in their surroundings. The last thing he remembered was being attacked by several A and S class youkai and being pretty badly wounded. When his sense finally returned, he realized that someone was on top of him and that his cock was incidentally buried within their body. Looking down at his chest, he noticed a mass of long black hair. _ At least it's a female._ He thought vaguely as he tried to remember what had transpired. As a guess he assumed that his instincts had taken over and he'd found a demoness worthy enough to bed. Taking in the scent that surrounded him, he found that he liked it. Coconut and vanilla mixed together with the faintest hint of cinnamon._

_ When her body shifted slightly, he nearly groaned as his cock sank deeper within the girl's body. Apparently his own body was ready for more, though it seemed that the girl on top of him wasn't. When she shifted again, he _did_ groan out loud. He didn't think he could take much more of her moving in his current state. That's when the memories flashed through his mind. First of the battle where he'd barely managed to kill off the demons before escaping and falling into a portal that led to _human world!_ That thought had him looking back down at the girl with slight fear. _Great, if I raped her and she's ningen Koenma will probably have my head.

_ She shifted again, but this time she woke as she did and she looked into his crimson eyes with her own sapphire. When she noticed that his eyes were no longer completely red, she smiled. "So you're actually in control now." Her words surprised the demon, and it showed in his eyes as the emotion flashed through them. "I hope you don't mind my still being on top of you, but you had a really strong grip even after you went to sleep."_

_ "Onna, what happened?" He questioned as he looked at her in near curiosity. There was something different about the girl, and she seemed to know that _he_ was different._

_ "I found you wounded and seemingly asleep, youkai-sama." The girl whispered, knowing better than to say anything that might make the demon mad while she was still as she was. "I fell asleep after I treated your wounds and woke shortly before you did as well, and I could tell that you were not in a proper state of mind as your eyes had bled completely red."_

So I was consumed by my lust, but did I rape the girl or not. It doesn't appear so by the way she's acting though._ The girl once again shifted and he had to hold in a groan, though she moaned at her own action. _If she does that again…_ His thoughts trailed off as she once again shifted and moaned. _Fuck it!_ Flipping them over, he pulled almost all of the way out before ramming harshly back into her. It wasn't long before they were both climaxing because of the fast pace he'd set._

_ The girl hissed when he finally stilled as the slight pain returned to her. Her nether region ached slightly from its night so far. The demon seemed to notice her pain filled hiss as he looked at her questioningly. "You were my first and I'm a little sore from the last few hours."_

_ She saw as his eyes widened. "I took you repeatedly for several hours?"_

_ "Hai, almost six I think." She answered in a tired tone. "May I know your name youkai-sama?"_

_ He looked down at her in slight surprise before realizing the full impact of what happened. Humans were easily impregnated, and the girl could be carrying his offspring. He knew nothing about her except that she was human, and exceptionally good looking for a human. And all she knew of him was that he was a demon that had been injured. "Hiei."_

_ "Hiei-sama." She replied in a tired tone. "My name's Kagome. It was nice to meet you." A giggle punctuated her words and his look of surprise returned._

_ "You are a strange onna."_

_ Her eyes twinkled with mirth as she looked up at him. "Says the demon whose cock is still snugly within me… a _human_."_

_ He had to agree that she did have a point. He was still buried within her and more then capable of taking her once more. "There is a difference."_

_ "Being in heat is not a good one." She replied with a giggle. Noticing the slight shock on his features, she assumed that he thought she wouldn't know about that. "I am quite knowledgeable when it comes to youkai, Hiei-sama. I could easily spot the lust in your eyes and deduced the problem and acted on it."_

_ "So you are the reason this happened?" He questioned as he looked at her. For some reason he was talking more than usual._

_ "I was afraid that you'd kill the humans in your lust crazed state, so I submitted before you left." She whispered as she looked away from him. "I'm sorry that I, in a way, forced you to lay with me."_

_ Well that was new. The girl had just apologized to him for submitting and probably saving the city from him. This ningen was _definitely_ strange. "I highly doubt you forced me into anything."_

_ It was strange that she smiled at him after he spoke those words. "I suppose I couldn't _force_ a strong youkai like you to do anything really."_

_ "How is it you know about demons?" Hiei shifted as he questioned her, and earned a moan from the girl beneath him as his own cock twitched at the movement; begging for more._

_ "I can sense them." She said through her moan before looking up into his crimson eyes. "Are you still in heat?"_

_ He looked directly at her, and he couldn't help but tell her the truth. "Hai."_

_ "Then let me get up so I can dress and we can go somewhere more private." She whispered out as her cheeks tinted slightly red._

_ "You just learned my name, yet you wish to go somewhere private with me so we can continue this?"_

_ "You are in heat and I can help you." She whispered back. "I'll understand if you don't want to, since I _am_ human."_

_ He just looked at her before a smirk tilted his lips. "Human or not, you're mine until my heat cycle's over."_

_ She smiled playfully at him. "Now that that's settled, let's go somewhere that people _can't_ see us."_

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

A smile touched her lips as the memory continued replaying through her mind. That day she'd stayed with Hiei and her heart had slowly mended with time and his 'affections'. Once it healed, she'd slowly begun to fall for him. His touches were usually soft and towards her he was abnormally gentle. This time she fell willingly, knowing that she'd only ever be a body to warm his bed. But at least she had that. He took care of her needs and made sure she received pleasure as well. Though he never did take the binding from his arm, or that bandana from his head.

Since she was so focused on her thoughts, she hadn't seen a young red haired man that she seemingly collided with. Looking up, her sapphire blue eyes met with emerald green. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"It's quite alright miss…"

"Higurashi, Kagome Higurashi. And you are sir?"

"Minamino Shuichi."

"Well I am terribly sorry for running into you Minamino-san."

"Not a problem Higurashi-san. I wasn't paying enough attention either."

Kagome smiled at him. "Please, call me Kagome… I _hate_ all these pleasantries."

The man nodded with a chuckle. "Very well, then you may call me Shuichi."

"You seem very familiar Shuichi." She took in his appearance before snapping her fingers. "I saw you at the store the other day when Yuka was dragging me around. She'd said something about _'the Shuichi Minamino'_ being there."

"The Shuichi Minamino?" He questioned with a smile.

"Hai, you're a legend at my old school, Naoko High."

The man's eyes widened slightly at that. "That is a very highly praised private school."

"Hai, I went there up until several months ago. Now I'm home schooled and am close to graduating early with honors."

"Might I ask where you're heading?"

"Memorial Hospital. My grandfather became ill and I wish to visit him as I didn't get the chance to yesterday."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"And I'm even more sorry to say it." She said softly. "But I'm sure that fate has its reasons for doing this."

"You believe in fate, Kagome?"

"I am a shrine maiden, so I was raised to believe within it and the kami." Suddenly she turned her now mischievous eyes to him. "Of course ji-san would tell you that none of my lessons have ever stuck. According to him I've broken sacred law."

"And what have you done which is so horrid?"

"I have sought comfort in the arms of a man, but worse than that, a man my ji-san proclaims is a 'demon'." She giggled. "He's always throwing sutras at everyone and trying to exorcize or purify them."

"Oh?" The man questioned as he leaned closer to her. They were currently walking further in town.

"Hai, it's funny when he tried to throw them at my 'boyfriend', as he simply destroyed the pieces of paper." She almost said that he incinerated them before they neared him. When the hospital came into sight, she sighed sadly. "It was good meeting you Shuichi, but I'm afraid I must go."

"I hope to see you again, Kagome."

They parted ways and the girl entered the large building and headed for the front desk. "Can I help you?"

Resisting stating that the correct grammar would be '_may_ I help you', she asked her question. "Yes, what room is Ikiji Higurashi in?"

"Room 216."

"Arigatou." The girl whispered as she left to find that room.

When she entered the room, her grandfather smiled up at her. "Kagome, I had hoped to see you one last time."

The woman shook her head at him. "Don't be silly ji-san, you'll be seeing me many more times."

The old man chuckled and waved her over to his bedside. "I'm old Kagome, I have to go sometime."

"That doesn't mean that your time is now."

"Perhaps, but perhaps not." The man said with a slightly sad smile. "But I have things I wish to tell you before I do pass. Now is as good a time as any to begin."

"Alright ji-chan, what do you wish to tell me first?"

He smiled at her. "First of all, happy birthday sweetie."

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

Kagome slowly moved through the crowded streets, somehow managing to avoid the other ningen which seemed to be trying to obstruct her path. Her mind was busy trying to decipher all of what her grandfather had told her. How her father might still be alive, and how her grandfather wanted her to go through the scrolls at the shrine and find secret family scrolls that she should train herself and Souta with. Her mind quickly returned to the subject of her father though.

"_Your mother kept my last name, though she did take on the title of Mrs. Your father was a powerful man who used his energy to kill any demon that crossed his path, thinking them all to be evil. At least until he met that green haired one. I think his name was Itsuki. Anyways, it all went downhill from there. I heard little of what all happened on the night that everything changed, but what your father saw twisted him. His mind was no longer stable and he felt terrible about the demonic life that he'd taken._

_ From what I know there was a ritual that several humans performed where demons were brutally tortured and slowly killed in such horrendous ways. Growing up, the boy thought that demons were evil and humans were good. That things were as simple as black and white, he'd never understood that there was lots of gray. When he saw what had transpired, he snapped. Slaughtering all of the humans within, then when Itsuki arrived he claimed that they were already dead; but he was covered in their blood."_

_ "What was my father's name? Why didn't momma take his name?"_

_ "Many demons were after him and he was afraid that they'd go after Kun-loon if they knew about her. But his name is Sensui. Shinobu Sensui."_

_ "Could he really still be alive?"_

_ "He might've been killed for some sort of crime, but I'm not sure. He was known as a spirit detective until that night. After that he started changing and then disappeared altogether."_

_ "Shinobu." She whispered out. "I will find him."_

That was all she could think about, the fact that her father might still be alive. _Daddy, I'll find you._

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

"You've been bugging me for answers fox, and I finally give them and all you can do is laugh?" Hiei questioned as he glared at a certain red headed man.

"Forgive me Hiei, it's just that I can't believe that you would wish to _court_ a human let alone touch one."

"She is not an ordinary ningen." He murmured. "She has been my lover for some time now, and not once has she complained or asked to become more."

"You seem to care quite a bit for this woman by the sounds of it." The red head respond while still laughing. "But I still can't believe that you are with a ningen."

"Well get over it and help me out." The demon stated with a glare.

"If, like you say, she knows about demons, then she should know some of their customs. Why not give her your hiroseki and see if she accepts." Hiei supposed that he could do that. Giving a hiroseki as a gift was a mating gift that was meant as a sign of courting. "We could also go to the mall and you could look at items to get her."

_**\Or you could simply claim her. She is only ningen after-all.\**_

_ \Be quite Youko.\_ Shuichi said calmly to his other half before returning to his conversation with the fire demon.

"And what would I get her?"

"Well, what does she like?" Kurama questioned as they started moving towards the city and out of the park.

_**/She does not show interest in much./**_

_** \She obviously showed interest in you.\**_ Youko replied in an amused tone.

Hiei seemingly glared at what he thought of as the annoying kitsune before jumping into one of the nearby trees so he could flit across the buildings and not have to mingle with the ningen._ \That maybe so Youko, but we are trying to find something to get for her.\_

_**\Perhaps if we knew her…\**_

_** /No./**_ That was slightly snarled out, and Kurama knew he was receiving a glare. _**/I will not let you anywhere near her, kitsune./**_

_**\A little possessive, aren't we? Most ningen hate that.\**_ His remark earned a growl from the fire demon. Since he was so engrossed in their mental conversation, he didn't notice the woman coming towards him. Which he effectively walked into the poor girl. _**\She looks **_**delicious**_**.\**_ The kitsune in his mind whistled.

He could hear Hiei growling darkly at him and was curious as to why, he looked over and saw the girl from earlier smiling at him in amusement. "It's so nice to _run into_ you again, Shuichi."

"Ah, sorry Kagome. I was once again not paying attention."

"And neither was I." She offered. "I've just been told several things by my grandfather, including that I've been way to busy."

"And why does he think that?" Shuichi questioned as he took her hand and helped her to her feet, earning a deeper growl from his invisible companion.

"Because I was just told that it was my birthday." She responded with a giggle. "I had no idea until my grandfather told me this morning."

The red head chuckled at that. "Then I'd have to agree that you've been too busy."

"Are you heading to the mall as well?" She suddenly questioned as she looked up at him. "If so, would you mind if I walked with you?"

"Hai, and I suppose it would be alright." He said, slightly confused.

"Thank-you!"

"Higurashi-san!" The call drew the redhead's attention away from the now smiling girl and to a young brunette boy who was running toward them. He also noticed that his invisible companion's glare was now turned to the boy. "I'm surprised to see you out and about, especially after hearing about that nasty incident with the cat."

_Memo to self, thank grandpa for a finally valid excuse._ Kagome thought as she smiled politely at the young man. "Well I needed to go to the mall and my friend, Shuichi-chan, agreed to escort me. My mother simply couldn't decline."

Kurama looked at the girl beside him in curiosity before returning his gaze to the brunette who was studying him. "Hello, I am Minamino Shuichi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello Minamino-san; I am Houjo Akitoki, and it's nice to meet you as well." The brunette replied with a smile. "I need to be getting back to the shop now, but take good care of Higurashi-san."

"I will." The redhead replied with a polite smile before turning to the girl when he was out of earshot. "What was that about?"

Sighing, she looked up at him apologetically. "He can't take a hint that I'm not interested… and I'd rather my 'boyfriend' not, well, kill him."

"Sounds like this boyfriend is protective of you."

She giggled and smiled at his words. "It's more that he can't stand to share and doesn't like it when people touch what he deems as 'his'."

"Ah. Well, shall we continue to the mall now then?"

"Sure!" She chirped happily.

Kurama smiled and took her arm as he started leading her through the throngs of people that seemed to overtake the sidewalk. Hiei was growling dangerously in his mind as he did so. _**/I suggest that you release her, fox./**_

That almost made him pause. _**\**__**She's**__** the ningen you wish to court?\**_ Youko questioned as his eyes widened slightly. _**\How the hell did you land such a beautiful lover?\**_

_** /Fox./**_

_\Calm down Hiei, we are simply leading her to the mall and will release her once we reach our destination.\_ Shuichi replied smoothly. _\And this makes things easier as we can find out what she likes while we walk.\_

_** /You better not try anything./**_ The fire demon growled dangerously.

_\I won't.\_ Turning back to the girl beside him, he finally noticed what she was wearing. "I just noticed that you're wearing a kimono, most girls wouldn't."

"I am not most, and I prefer kimono."

"That one looks expensive."

"I wouldn't know, a friend bought it for me. When he noticed my eyes drift toward it, he told me I needed to make sure it fit and then said it was mine."

"Was it your boyfriend who bought this for you?"

She giggled and shook her head. "No, it was just a friend."

"This friend seems very nice."

"He was." She replied. "And this is one of my favorite kimonos now, because it reminds me of someone very special."

"Oh?" He questioned as he looked at the silk material. "It's patterned with kitsune."

"Hai, and that's why it reminds me of him."

"Him?"

"My little Shippo." She replied happily. "He's the sweetest little boy, but an orphan. He looks up to me like I'm his mother because I'm always taking care of him. He's got reddish gold hair and emerald green eyes and is _so_ cute."

"So you've essentially adopted a young child." _\Did you know about that Hiei?\_

_** /No./**_ He replied darkly.

"Well, he _just_ kind of asked me if he could call me mother a few days ago." She answered as she looked up at the mall. "I suppose we should separate here unless you wish to accompany me through the stores as well."

"I don't mind. I'm actually waiting for a friend to show up, and I know he hasn't yet or he would've called." The redhead replied smoothly. "And besides, I'm a little early anyways."

"Alright, well I need to get several different things for a few people." Trying to decide where to go first, she decided that the book store would work. "So what are you and your friend going to do here?"

"Oh, just look around."

"You know, I didn't think guys liked shopping."

"Who can complain when they're in the presence of a beautiful girl?" Youko questioned through the redhead's lips. Shuichi groaned internally at Hiei's dark growl which had the kitsune snickering.

The girl merely shook her head with a giggle. "I come here to get something for Miroku, and he pops up in the form of my companion." With mirth filled blue eyes, she looked up at him with another giggle escaping her rose red lips. "Such flattery is wasted upon me sir, for I already have someone else, as I've told you."

Kurama was shocked, as was Hiei, but Youko was chuckling darkly as he pushed himself forward once more and took her hand into his own as he kissed it. "A compliment is never wasted, whether it be between friends or lovers."

She once again giggled as she winked at him. "Then I suppose we are friends," her right hand slowly slipped up to the top of his head and tweaked an invisible ear, causing him to freeze "you devilishly playful kitsune."

"How did you know?" He questioned as his eyes shifted to being slightly gold tinted.

"One: your soul is covering the other at the moment, two: your image is overlapping, and three: my little kit told me about avatars." Winking at him, she turned back to the books on the shelf behind her.

Youko was now smirking as his golden eyes took in her form. _**\I think I like her.\**_

_ \Was she just flirting with you?\_ A growl met that question.

_**\No, she was simply being playful.\**_ Youko responded._** \You're a lucky son of a bitch Hiei.\**_

_** /What makes you say that?/**_ The fire demon questioned darkly.

_**\You have a beautiful vixen who is loyal to your claim on her. A human vixen at that.\**_

"Come on Shuichi, I have the books I need." The girl said, snapping him from his mental conversation.

He smiled at her and followed as he looked over the books in her hands. "Since you know of my demon aspect, I'd prefer if you called me Kurama; as it suits me best. And are those psychology books?"

"Hai, Miroku likes them." She replied.

"Would this Miroku happen to be your boyfriend?"

A giggle. "He's more like a brother, and is married to my best friend, Sango. She's actually carrying his pup.. Ah child."

"Pup?"

"Inuyasha keeps saying that she's pupped, and it's gotten almost everyone to be saying it."

"Inuyasha?"

"He's a… friend." She replied softly. There was something in her tone that had Hiei growling.

"You make it sound like he's more than a friend."

"I loved him at one point…" She whispered out sadly, and Kurama knew Hiei was growling darkly. Then she gave a soft smile as her eyes seemed to cloud over with memories. "It's because of him that I met my boyfriend."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I'd gone to tell him that I was going home and found him with _Kikyo_." The name was said with a tint of anger in it that made the kitsune curious. "He'd just told me that he loved me, then I found him with _her_. You see, I met him when I was fifteen and I quickly fell for him. Not long after did Kikyo reappear and well she was his first love. She wasn't the same woman that he fell in love with, but he didn't care. Well, he'd gone to her that night and I followed after him to tell him I was leaving since we were close to the shrine. He never noticed as I approached and they started undressing each other. I turned and ran, and when I reached the shrine I decided that I didn't want to see my family at the moment and so I rushed off and into the park where I came across my boyfriend."

"That is rather strange."

"That's what I thought, but I didn't question fate." She giggled out. "And speaking of Inuyasha, I promised him some ramen."

_\Hiei, calm down.\_ "You're bringing something to him even though he hurt you?"

"He's one of my friends, and I made a promise to stay by his side no matter what." She replied with a shrug. "Besides, I'm getting things for everyone as a sort of celebration."

"Celebration?"

"Hai. It was two years ago today that I learned of youkai and my training started. First I met Kaede, then Inuyasha, Shippo, Kikyo, Miroku, Kirara, and Sango."

"Are you getting something for yourself as well then?"

"I'll hopefully get what I want tonight, when I return."

"You're going somewhere?"

"To visit my friends and celebrate."

"And what do you have planned for tonight?"

The girl's face darkened in color before she looked to the ground. "That will be a surprise for my boyfriend."

_**\You're a lucky son of a bitch.\**_ Youko grumbled, causing Hiei to mentally smirk at him.

_\Quit whining Youko.\_ Shuichi said before turning back to the girl. "So where to next, and for which person?"

"To the candy store for chocolates for my kit."

* * *

Here is another chapter for all of my loving and devoted fans. I hope you enjoy the lengths! I kinda rigged my laptop charging cord so that it'll work and I can try to post updates since I have some free time now, and I'll try to update everything soon. My new laptop should be here by the 28th.

**Reads-way-2-much (I'll try e-mailing you then, I've been busy with school and work. Balancing a full time job with the courses I took was a little difficult, but it'll probably get a little worse once college starts in August. For now I'll just try updating everything.)**

**Kagome Lady of Darkness (Sorry it wasn't too soon, but it'll start being sooner.)**

**KagHieiLuver (Rightttt….)**

**Raine44354 (Lol.)**

**LuLuCrazeD (I dunno, I kinda already finished the story lol.)**

**Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami (I'll keep the flashback idea in mind.)**

**OoOLady IndigoOoO (Ty, and I'm just not that great of a writer.)**

**cowgirlkitten200 (Here it is, and it kind of ironic.)**

**Serenity digo19 (Sure there are, this has... **counts them** fourteen chapters.)**

**WhiteDemoness11 (Just don't squeal too loud lol.)**

**shadow miko (Here's the update.)**

**o0KittyBlue0o (I'll protect myself with knives. Would it be evil of me to tell you that I've already finished this story and it has 14 chapters?)**

**CrisscrossAnime (Hmm… You must read to find your answers.)**

**43InuAsha (Thanks.)**

**ILoveAnima89 (Here's my update.)**

**Foxluna (Good question, I know I cover that one.)**


	6. Chapter VI

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter VI**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Author's Note: **I've created a new website where you can talk about fanfics, and in one of the boards it's possible to get a sneak peak at some of the fics I'm working on, as well as ask questions about any of my fics. Here's the site url: .com/

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

_**Hikari

* * *

  
**_

**Last Time:**

"And what do you have planned for tonight?"

The girl's face darkened in color before she looked to the ground. "That will be a surprise for my boyfriend."

_**\You're a lucky son of a bitch.\**_ Youko grumbled, causing Hiei to mentally smirk at him.

_\Quit whining Youko.\_ Shuichi said before turning back to the girl. "So where to next, and for which person?"

"To the candy store for chocolates for my kit."

**This Time:**

"This is a lot of stuff." Kurama commented as he managed to take a few bags from the girl.

"All that's left is a nice kimono for Sango and Inuyasha's ramen. Then I'll have to find somewhere to get herbs for Kaede."

"Herbs?" The man questioned as he looked to the girl.

"Hai, there's a few herbs that she'd like that she can't get herself." She continued to name a few, and Kurama smiled as he had all of the seeds for them.

"I can help you out there, I am a plant manipulator."

"Really? That'd be wonderful!" She said as they walked by a jewelry store and Kagome was made to pause as she looked toward one of the displays. _Time to play._ _Yip!_ The reply almost had her lips twitching as she turned towards the kitsune beside her. "I'll be right back." Before he could reply, she disappeared into the store.

_**\What could that vixen be doing?\**_ Youko questioned from within their mind as he looked toward where she'd disappeared.

_\I am curious as well, since she couldn't take her eyes off the place when we passed it.\_

_**/She's looking at something./**_ Hiei responded through their link. _**/It looks like it's something for…/**_

_\Hiei?\_ Shuichi questioned as he allowed his eyes to flick toward the roof where he knew his friend was watching them using his jagan.

_**/There are hiroseki in that store./**_ He growled darkly.

_**\Perhaps that is what caught the girl's attention.\**_ Youko suggested.

Moments later, the girl walked out of the shop with an innocent smile and a small bag. "Sorry about that, but I wanted to get something for my mother." The man nodded and led her to another store which they were about to enter when…

"The jewels!" The shout came from the jewelry store that Kagome had just exited moments ago.

Said girl's smile remained innocent as she looked up at the confused kitsune. "I've decided to get something different for Sango. Come on, we need to go to a nearby shop."

_\What just happened?\_

_**\I'm not sure, Hiei?\**_

_** /The hiroseki have disappeared from the store./**_

_**\But where did they go?\**_

It was at that point that the girl had just tugged him from within the building and was leading him away. He looked at her and his eyes widened as he noticed what she was rolling around between her fingers. She looked up to meet his eyes and smiled innocently, causing Youko to fall over laughing within their mind as Hiei sat in shock. "I thought they looked pretty."

Even Kurama had to chuckle at that. "So you stole the jewels."

"Stealing involves taking something that is not your own, these were not that store's to begin with." Was her simple reply.

"And how do you get that the store did not own them?"

"A hiroseki belongs only to the one who shed it unless given freely. These stones were crying in there, and were not given but forcibly taken."

"Crying?" He questioned.

"You did not hear them?" She asked as she cocked her head to the side. "They were calling out and asking for help."

"So that is what caught your attention?"

"Hai."

"Well, what will you do with them?"

"The only safe thing, destroy them."

"What? But hiroseki can't be destroyed."

"The gems hold youki within them which means they can be purified. So destroying them is simple."

"You know from experience?"

"I saw Miroku purify one once." She replied as she smiled at him.

"Do you like hiroseki?" Kurama questioned.

The girl turned to him and she had a look that told him she was deep in thought. "Your question is difficult to answer. For while the jewel is pretty, it is also a painful burden to bear. Many will come after you because you hold such a valuable trinket, but sometimes holding it can be worthwhile."

"Your answer is somewhat confusing."

She smiled softly at him as she shook her head. "Forgive me, I wasn't even speaking of the same jewel. I meant that while hiroseki are beautiful, I would only accept one if it was given freely."

"So it wouldn't make you happy that someone went to all that trouble to get one for you?"

"It would anger me if it weren't given willingly. I am not so petty as to wish for material things that would require someone being hurt."

"So what kind of things do you wish for?"

"There are a few things that I wouldn't mind having, but I only met you today Kurama; I can't go telling you everything. Oh great King of Thieves." Winking at him, she started giggling at his stunned look.

"How…?"

"You are a silver spirit fox, and you go by the name of Kurama." She replied simply.

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

"Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, Inuyasha, Kaede!" Kagome called out as she made her way into the village. She was instantly tackled by a young little kit. The others all came out moments later and she smiled as they questioned why she was back so early. "Today's my birthday! Meaning it's been exactly two years since I met Inuyasha and everything started."

Their eyes all widened before everyone but Kaede and Inuyasha rushed to hug her. "Happy Birthday Kagome!" They all exclaimed excitedly.

"Thanks, and I brought things for everyone as a little celebration of the start of the journey."

"Really?" Shippo questioned as he bounced up and down before noticing the patterns on her kimono. "Mommy, that kimono…"

"It reminds me of you." She said happily. "And I got you lots of candy. Ramen for Inuyasha," she said as she handed him several things of noodles "the philosophy and psychology books for Miroku, special herbs for Kaede, baby things for Sango, and cat nip and treats for Kirara."

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

Kagome smiled as she watched her group continue to have a good time on their little picnic. Even Inuyasha appeared to be having fun as they ate their ninja food and played games. Shippo was hyper since he'd eaten quite a bit of his candy. Smiling at the picture they made, the girl relaxed against a tree and waited for a few moments before calling the kit over to her. Telling the others that they were going for a walk, they went off into the surrounding forest. "Shippo, you want me to be your mother, right?"

"Hai." He answered somewhat uncertainly as he didn't know where this was going.

"Would you like for me to adopt you in the youkai way?"

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Of course I would Shippo, anything to make you happy."

"I love you mommy!" The boy squealed and he launched himself into her arms. Happily she picked him up and spun him around as she giggled.

"And I love you too, my little kit." She whispered almost soothingly as she stroked his soft golden fur.

**/\**

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Night was just about to fall when a young dark haired woman placed the finishing touches on her room. She smiled as she lit the final candle and placed a few things around the room. When she was sure that everything was ready, she left her room to take a bath and relax in the warm waters. After half an hour, she returned to her room where the candles were still burning slowly. A small smile overtook her lips as she looked at the setting she'd created._** (Hiei… Please come over, I have something to show you.)**_

_**/I'll be there in a few minutes./**_

The reply brushed against her mind and she almost shivered. Already she was trembling with excitement at the prospect of this night. Turning back to her bedroom door, she closed and locked it._ Tonight. I tell him tonight._ She thought as she looked out the window and into the dark night's sky. _The new moon. __What will you do mistress?__ Go to sleep Hikari, this is to… _adult_ for your eyes. __Yes mistress.__ And I told you, call me Kagome._

A few moments later, and Hiei appeared. His expression turned to that of surprise as he took in the sight of her room, completely covered in candles. Black silk sheets were covering the bed as red silk pillows littered the head and a few even were spaced out around the floor. There were a few bottles of some sort around, and there was even… a bowl of pure chocolate. Then his eyes shifted to her and his pants suddenly felt entirely too tight.

The girl was dressed in a black lace negligee that was practically see-through. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized that there wasn't any scars on her body. They'd all disappeared. His eyes slowly rose to hers as she giggled at his shocked look. "Kagome?"

"Kaede gave me something that got rid of them." She whispered out with a smile. "It was her birthday gift to me."

"What is all this?" He questioned as he his eyes took in the candles and the rest of the room.

"Atmosphere." She replied with a playful giggle; everything about her portrayed happiness and mischief. But her eyes, they were that of a predator. They shifted, deepening in color until they were almost midnight black. The demon's body froze as he looked at her. Skin as pale as moonlight caused her rose red lips to stand out against the white of her skin, her hair, a waterfall of ink, fell in waves down her back, and her body seemed to have a golden glow surrounding it. Power flared around him as it encompassed the entirety of the room, shifting until he felt the energy still and mold together to form a barrier.

He was surprised. This was a completely new side of her. Normally she was tame and obedient. Right now she appeared to be fiery and wild. Power was still swirling around her form as she approached, her smile turning predatory as she reached him. When her hands traced against his abs through his cloak, he nearly groaned for some reason. He was being turned on, and quickly. _**/What is this?/**_

"An aphrodisiac." She murmured as she quickly divested him of his cloak and shirt. "It paralyzes you somewhat."

_**/You…/**_

"Happy birthday to me." She whispered into his ear with a giggle. "Relax, I promise that you'll enjoy yourself." Her soft voice was husky and laced with lust as she spoke, but it was also filled with dark promises. A violet glow surrounded her hand as she traced her fingertips along her lover's chest, causing him to hiss in pleasure as the energy ghosted across his flesh in burning tickles. She smiled almost sinisterly as her hands fell lower and dove within his pants. His eyes widened before a deep, pleasure filled moan was pulled from his lips as her energy covered hands brushed against his hardened member.

Slowly she leaned forward and her lips trailed across his chest as she licked and nipped her way across his chest. Her hand retreated from his cock, earning a groan of protest from the man before her. She simply smirked and stepped back as she allowed her negligee to fall from her body. The only scar still visible was the star-burst shaped one that she always carried. Soon her bra and thong joined the silky lace on the floor. She stood bare before him and his eyes drank all of her in as her hair fell over her shoulders to hide her pink buds from view. The ink colored tresses falling so far as to cover her treasure as well.

Her hands moved to his belts and undid them quickly as she tossed his sword aside. Her eyes flashed as she allowed them to trail across his body and she smiled innocently as she somehow managed to remove his clothes without him noticing. Her hands then reached for the bandage on his arm and his eyes widened. _**/No./**_

She paused and turned her mischievous eyes up to meet his concerned red. "Give me a reason."

He thought it over for a moment before conceding that he would have to tell her anyways if he wished to court her. _**/I do not hold full control of the beast./**_

Smiling, she shook her head. "I assure you Hiei, nothing will happen." And her hands continued to the bandage and had it off in seconds. His widened eyes filled with slight shock as he watched her trace the dragon tattoo as it wound up his arm to almost his shoulder. He felt as the beast calmed and was soothed into remaining in place. Next her hands reached for the headband he always wore, and before he could protest, the white cloth lay at his feet.

Evil energy pulsed before the jagan opened, its violet eye focusing on her as she looked at it in surprise. Hiei was certain that she'd turn away in disgust now, having seen what he'd tried keeping from her view. Instead, her hand raised and brushed against the eye's lid in a petting motion and he felt his body weaken and tremble as intense pleasure coursed through his veins. When his eyes opened after the feeling, they were beginning to bleed completely crimson.

The girl smiled mischievously once again as she pushed him towards the bed and made him lay down upon his stomach on it. Light kisses were placed all over his back and shoulders before she pulled away. Soon two soft, lotion covered hands were massaging his shoulders and neck before moving to his back. A giggle was heard, and he would have jumped had he had any control of his body. The girl had _pinched_ his ass. She giggled again before massaging his buttocks and moving down to his legs.

When she reached his feet, she flipped him over and started with his chest, then stomach, arms, and then she smiled as she turned and grabbed a different bottle. She allowed its contents to fall into her hand before she smirked darkly at him. Her hands rubbed together in a motion to warm it up before one hand descended to his cock and the other to his sac. Wherever she now touched seemed like it'd been set on fire. His cock hardened further and began dripping precum as it twitched and begged to be used, to pound into the body of the one torturing it.

The demon was beginning to think that the girl was killing him, as it was she was slowly torturing him. If he could move, she'd be paying dearly for what she was doing to him, and he'd be buried deep within her. Slowly she moved up his body so that she could kiss him deeply. Her hair moving across his naked flesh had jolts of pleasure scorching through him, and he found himself wondering why such a simple thing was gaining such a response.

It was almost like she read his mind as she chuckled darkly at him. Her breasts pressed firmly into his chest, and her heated core gently teased the tip of his hard and yearning cock. All he'd have to do is shift and he be buried deeply within her body. He once again cursed whatever she used to keep him from moving as he looked into her nearly black eyes. "That lotion I rubbed _all_ over your body made your skin _extra_ sensitive. The barest of touches to any part of your body that has it on will cause you to yearn for release." A soft rub of her wet core against his shaft had him moaning deeply. "And the special lotion I put down there will make you feel like you're on fire and that you're going to explode any moment. It's extra sensitive to touch as well."

_**/You enjoy torturing me./**_ His voice was deeper and filled with lust and pleasure, and he was stating a fact not questioning her.

"Hai, but you're enjoying it as well." She whispered out before sliding back down his body. He didn't argue her point, because the truth was that he _was_ enjoying it. Slowly she stood and gathered a nearby bowl before her eyes glinted in a playful manner. His ruby red eyes watched as she pulled a spoon from the bowl and they widened as he saw the chocolate drip from said spoon. She giggled at his expression as she moved closer to him with an innocent expression. "It's time to eat my candy."

Her dark voice had the demon shivering in anticipation as he felt the warm brown creamy substance coat his member before a tongue quickly began licking at it. His eyes practically rolled back when she took his member into her mouth and gave a hard suck. A deep moan came from his throat and it was quickly followed by a pleased growl as one of her hands took hold of his sac and began massaging his balls. Her mouth left his member and he groaned in protest before moaning as her tongue licked along the sensitive base of his cock. Soon she'd freed his hard member of the chocolate and took him once more into her mouth after licking her lips clean.

Her free hand wrapped around the base of his cock as she began sucking on the tip and her hand pumped him in unison. He felt himself coming close to climaxing, but she pulled away and nipped the tip of his erection, denying him his release. Her eyes twinkled as she continued to deny him release, causing him to growl darkly as his eyes bled further crimson. Before his eyes turned completely red, she moved her hand from the base of his cock and took him wholly into her mouth. His eyes rolled back as his member was completely encased within the heat of her mouth.

She sucked hard and began humming, sending vibrations all throughout his length. Giving a harsh squeeze and tug to his sac as well as swallowing around his member had him going off in her mouth, practically down her throat as she swallowed all he had to offer. Slowly she crawled back up his body and smiled mischievously at him as his glazed over crimson eyes looked up into her own pure black ones. Slowly she leaned down and captured his lips before pulling back and looking deep into his eyes. Leaning close to the sensitive lobe of his ear, she blew on it before suckling. "While the aphrodisiac _does_ partially paralyze you, it _doesn't_ keep you immobile."

_**/Then why can't I move?/**_ He questioned in a content tone.

"It's a spell that'll only release when the caster says the trigger word or 'words'." She trailed kisses from his neck back up to his lips before once more looking deeply into his eyes. "I love you." The whispered words shattered the invisible bounds that kept him immobile as she leaned down to claim his lips once more. _**(Kimi o ai shitmasu Hiei.)**_

The words whispered through his mind as his hands wrapped around her body, holding her flush against his burning skin. When the kiss finally broke, he looked deep within her still completely black eyes. "Kagome…"

"I know you probably don't feel the same Hiei, but please don't leave me just because I fell for you. I am content with simply being your lover."

He smiled a small smile as he pulled her back down for another kiss, it was slow and sensuous. It felt like he was caressing her lips with his own in a loving manner. When he pulled away, he could see that her eyes were shining with what appeared to be unshed tears. "There's something that I should tell you." He whispered as he stood and retrieved his cloak, somewhat confusing her as he did so. Out of one of the pockets he pulled out what appeared to be a necklace. When he turned back to her, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Carefully he placed the silver chain around her neck and allowed the blue gem at the end to fall against her chest causing her eyes to widen. "I came here tonight with the intention of asking permission to court you."

* * *

I know, it's a little short at 26 pages (at least it's what word says) but you guys know how I love cliff hangers. That makes this the _perfect_ place to cut it off at. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this.

**WhiteDemoness11 (I don't need cold showers, I have a man :-P. And thanks for the compliment, but there's always room for improvement.)**

**lovingo0Kawaii0oGirl (I already have this story finished, so it WILL continue… I just need to remember to post it lol.)**

**o0KittyBlue0o (I have a new laptop and am now in college, but here's some more.)**

**KagHieiLuver (Nice, I'm in college.)**

**cowgirlkitten2000 (I'm glad you like it and thanks for the compliments. Here is the next part.)**

**KaneRyuMoon (It's my pleasure to write for the enjoyment of others, and all will come out eventually.)**


	7. Chapter VII

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter VII**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

_**Hikari**_

_**

* * *

**_

**Last Time:**

He smiled a small smile as he pulled her back down for another kiss, it was slow and sensuous. It felt like he was caressing her lips with his own in a loving manner. When he pulled away, he could see that her eyes were shining with what appeared to be unshed tears. "There's something that I should tell you." He whispered as he stood and retrieved his cloak, somewhat confusing her as he did so. Out of one of the pockets he pulled out what appeared to be a necklace. When he turned back to her, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Carefully he placed the silver chain around her neck and allowed the blue gem at the end to fall against her chest causing her eyes to widen. "I came here tonight with the intention of asking permission to court you."

**This Time:**

Kagome's eyes widened as she looked into his crimson orbs in shock. The man she loved had just placed a hiroseki around her neck and told her that he wished to court her. There was no way, she _had_ to be dreaming. Nothing this wonderful ever happened to her. When it finally hit her that he was _asking_ permission to court _her_, she threw herself at him and sealed her lips to his. Her response was clearly a positive one to his questioning statement.

Gently the demon pushed her back onto the bed and claimed his place on top of her before trailing kisses to her neck and shoulder. His fangs lengthened as he licked the spot he'd chosen. Ever so slightly his sharp k-9's broke the skin as he pushed youki into the puncture mark. This was his claiming and courting mark. The mating mark would be higher up and deeper, deep enough to puncture the main artery.

Removing his fangs from her body, he went to move downwards to taste her, but she stopped him as she grabbed his arms and whined. An actual animalistic whine. "Please Hiei… take me."

His eyes darkened at the pure need and lust in her voice before moving down her body anyways. He simply _had_ to taste her, and taste her now. A soft pink tongue flicked out and ran across her already wet womanhood causing her to moan deeply. Ever so slowly he continued running the wet appendage across her slick folds, tasting the essence that was purely _her_. He was thoroughly enjoying himself as he listened to her moan his name so deliciously, as it fell from her lips like a mantra.

The girl felt as if she was being tortured as he continued his slow licking movements. Her hands reached up above her head and grasped the sheets as she tried to keep from moving her body. This was payback for her teasing him, and she knew it. When she felt his fangs brush against her clit, a wave of pleasure tore threw her and she had to grab the headboard so as not to allow her body to jerk in response. Her hands rubbed along the smooth wood as the demon between her legs took her clit into his mouth, her mind barely registered as her hand bumped against something and knocked it off.

Hiei's slow torture continued until finally he took pity on her and allowed her release. She moaned out his name as she came and her grip on the headboard tightened. After drinking all she had to offer, he climbed up her body and kissed her deeply. Rubbing his hardened length against her center, he earned a moan as she broke the kiss and her hands moved to grip the muscles on his back. "Hiei…."

"Kagome." He whispered as he once more lowered his lips to hers and captured her mouth in a passionate kiss, and in one fluid movement he sheathed himself deep within her welcoming heat. The instant he was fully seated within her, her inner walls began to quiver and she once again climaxed. The action caused him to groan as her walls tightened around him, nearly causing him to climax as well. He started out slow, pumping in and out of her sensuously. His hands roamed her body, caressing her bared skin and heated trails across her flesh.

Her hips raised to meet him, giving him deeper access to her welcoming center. Willingly her body received him as she contracted her inner muscles around his length, causing deep moans to escape his lips. His hot breath brushed against the delicate skin of her neck as his mouth lowered to suckle on the tantalizing flesh. Fangs grazed the soft skin before applying pressure so as to draw blood for the demon to taste. Her blood was filled with the taste of cinnamon, containing the power that now literally flowed through her veins.

Their bodies were molding together while the light of the flames flickered throughout the room, casting shadows along the walls and casting light upon the two lovers. Kagome's blunt human nails scraped against Hiei's back as he pushed deeper into her willing body. His name fell from her lips as she arched her body farther into him, wanting to become one with him. And in that moment Hiei almost thought they were. The young woman pulled his face to hers and pressed her lips to his as her legs moved to wrap tightly around his sides.

Stomach coiling tightly, she willed her inner walls to clench tightly as her powers rose to the surface of her skin; Hiei couldn't take it much longer and shoved himself deep within her before growling darkly as his climax hit him… hard. Her own climax tore through her at the same moment, making them fly over the edge in unison. Looking into his crimson orbs, he gasped as he saw the fireworks going off in her pitch black eyes.

Collapsing on top of her, he allowed his arms to wrap around her body as he shifted onto his side and pulled her back against him. His claws began to lazily draw circles on her stomach as his lips kissed and suckled on her neck while she lay contently in his arms. He was amazed at himself because he was exhausted. Since he _was_ tired, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall into a content sleep as he held her.

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It was still dark when she awoke with a smile on her lips. She was held in a warm embrace and she could feel the weight of the tear gem that rested on her chest. Turning over in the loose embrace of the arms around her, she laid her head down on her lover's chest and slowly began placing kisses along the naked expanse of pure muscle. A low moan escaped his lips as his eyes slowly opened to look at her smiling face. One of his hands cupped her cheek and pulled her up to his face so his lips could claim hers. "Mmm… Kagome."

"Good-morning Hiei," she said lowly as she laid her head back down on his chest. Her arms held him tightly to herself, almost as if she was afraid he'd leave or disappear.

His response was to murmur her name once again and nuzzle into her neck. She giggled but also let out a purring noise that didn't go unnoticed by the fire demon holding her. He actually commented on it. "You seem to be responding more like an animal demon."

"It could be a result of my adopting Shippo by youkai law." She whispered as snuggled closer to his body.

"You adopted a kitsune cub?" He questioned as an eyebrow raised at her.

"Hai," and she nuzzled her face into his chest. "Will you stay with me today?"

"I can stay for most of the morning, but I need to start training for the demon tournament soon."

"What tournament?" Kagome questioned as she looked up into his eyes in curiosity.

"A tournament to see who'll rule demon world for the next three years."

"When is it?"

"In one year, but powerful demons will be attending."

She nodded her head with a slight smile. "I understand. You should be training for this tournament anyways, instead of spending time with me."

"I enjoy spending time with you." He admitted to her as his hold on her body tightened, pulling her closer to him and making sure that she couldn't move away. Though he highly doubted that she'd try to move away.

The girl smiled as she allowed her hand to run along his toned body. Slowly she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his in a loving kiss. The fire demon easily took control as his fangs grazed against her bottom lip, causing her mouth to open in a gasp. He easily took advantage of the opportunity and allowed his tongue to dart inside and taste her. She tasted of strawberries and chocolate, a delicious combination.

Before things could go any farther, Hiei pulled away and pulled her close as he tucked her head under his chin. The young woman was rather confused by his actions, thinking that he would have had his way with her like any other time. "Hiei?"

He could easily hear the question in her voice as his arms tightened and a low growl began vibrating through his chest. "I wish to court you properly, Kagome. We will take things slowly from now on."

"A proper courting?" She questioned as she thought it over. "Including the different steps and stages required?"

"You know of the rules of courting?" He questioned as he closed his eyes.

"Hai. Grandma Kaede taught them to me, thinking I'd need to know them. Sango-chan also told me of the customs of several different species of demon." She paused. "Which way of courting do you plan to go by though? You've given me a hiroseki which, as being part Koorime, is a symbol and show of your desire to mate with me, but you are also part fire demon."

"The gem is a courting gift." He stated as he had her look up at him.

"So you plan to court be by fire demon standards?"

"Hai." He answered as he kissed her almost lovingly.

Smiling at him, she cuddled closer and was content to simply rest in his arms until the sun peaked in through the open window. Pouting as the light hit her face, she easily entangled herself from her lover's arms and moved to get dressed. "Come on Hiei, I'll make us breakfast when we get downstairs."

The apparition gave her a soft smile as he stood from the bed and picked his clothes up from the floor. At his smile, a blush stained her cheeks and she quickly looked away, using her long hair to hide her face. He smirked at this and quickly pulled his pants on before moving behind her to pull her back against his chest and wrap his arms around her waist. "Kagome." Laying his head down on her shoulder, he buried his nose in her hair and took in her scent.

Turning in his arms, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself as close to him as she could. Her sapphire eyes closed as she rested her head on his shoulder and gave a small sigh. "You'll always be with me, right?"

The sudden question confused him for a moment, so he pushed her back slightly so that he could see her face. There was the faintest hint of sadness to be seen, and when her blue eyes opened to look at him he nearly gasped. Instead, he pulled her close to him and nuzzled into her neck. "Hai, you _are_ the one I've chosen."

She trembled slightly for a moment before she nodded and gave a small smile. Her hand easily reached into the closet and pulled out a plain yukata and took his hand as she somehow managed to slip it on, then she led him downstairs and to the living room. "Is there anything you want to eat, or are you even hungry?"

He shook his head and pulled her into his lap as he relaxed into one of the chairs. She smiled as she happily curled up on him and lay her head on his chest. An aura of contentedness surrounded her as she peacefully remained in her demon lover's arms. They both relaxed in the silence, content to simply be with the other and have this moment. It was like this that Souta found them and he smiled, happy that his sister was so content. "Good morning nee-san."

"Good morning Souta." She replied without even opening her eyes and keeping her face buried in Hiei's chest.

"Whenever you're done being lazy for the day, I think I got the hang of that attack you showed me?"

"Already?" She asked as her eyes opened. "But I _just_ taught you that the other day."

"It's not as powerful as yours, but it's no longer so useless."

At this she pouted. "It took me a week to perfect that attack."

He smirked at her. "You practiced in your mind, I actually channeled the energy to do it physically."

"Evil." She grumbled as she glared at him.

_**/An attack?/**_ The fire apparition holding her questioned curiously.

_**(Hai, it uses reiki.)**_

_** /I wish to see it./**_

His voice was soft, but demanding. She simply couldn't deny him, so she nodded and stood. "Seems you can show me now, we'll go outback to see it."

"Right." The boy readily agreed as he started tugging her towards the back door. Hiei followed behind silently, curious as to what this spirit attack was. He hadn't known that she could even wield spirit energy, and he couldn't sense anything special about her spirit energy either. He watched as the boy stood in front of a tree and concentrated as he forced energy into the palm of his hands. "Spirit shards!"

A blast of light blue energy shot from his hands in little shards, denting the ground in front of him. "Not bad for a ningen so young." The apparition murmured as he looked at the boy.

"Wait till you see sis'."

Kagome rolled her eyes as he gave her the puppy-dog pout. Amusement danced in her eyes as she gave him a playful nod. "You should get behind me Souta." He moved quickly and she smiled as she held her palm out in front of her. "Spirit shards." A blast of _many_ sharp projectiles flew from her open hand as the energy burst forth. A giant crater was left where the attack hit and she shook her head with a pout. "It took me a week and you only used a few days."

"Yeah, but I can't make a big crater like you can." The boy whined. Neither noticed Hiei's look of shock. "And at least you didn't blow up the trees this time."

The girl huffed and turned away from him. "Yeah, but that attack works wonders on enemies." Then she started snickering. "A certain jerk _fell to pieces_ over it."

"A certain jerk?"

"I never learned the idiot's name."

"Where did you learn that attack?" Hiei suddenly questioned, startling the two.

The girl turned to him with a small smile though. "I taught it to myself, though Miroku-kun was teaching me to control my reiki."

"You are quite good at using that energy."

"Thank-you." She said with a large smile on her face.

**/\**

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Everything was covered in dust, and it took quite some time to find the scrolls that her grandfather had asked her to learn. One such scroll spoke of an ability that involved using one's own energy against them in order to purify them of outside taint. The scroll said that a psychic named Genkai had invented and perfected such a technique, and it even gave instructions on how to form the attack. One way was to use the chant, thus turning one's own energy against them. The second way was to channel one's energy into a direct assault or an energy blast, the direct assault being to channel the energy through a punch or kick. The direct assault would have a more damaging effect than firing it as a blast.

There were also several other scrolls that held information on other forms of attack and defense. The one she was most interested in was the one with using one's own energy. If utilized correctly, it could be used on someone being controlled to do evil and use their own soul's energy to destroy the outside influence. However, if the being's heart is dark, their own energy would eat their soul and destroy themselves. _Would this work on Kohaku?_ It was worth a try. Having Kohaku back would make Sango happy, but this attack was risky. It would require tremendous energy and could kill the user if they couldn't handle it.

Her eyes once again traveled over the document, taking in all that it said was needed. If nothing else, the attack would be something to kill Naraku with. Kohaku would make a good test to see if it could actually free someone of outside influence. Deciding that this was a chance that she could not pass up, she tucked the scroll into her kimono. Pulling out another scroll to look at, her eyes widened in complete shock. It had information on something called the dark tournament and it described a fight that happened around fifty or so years ago. It spoke of several people participating, but what had her shocked were the names of the winners. One was Genkai, there were two different Toguro's, and someone else, but it was the last name of the winning team that held her attention. Ikiji Higurashi. Her grandfather's name.

Looking back to the other name that was on the list, she nearly fell over in surprise. The name was Yoshirou. That was the name of her grandfather's younger brother who'd died when they were younger. His brother had been seventeen, and he was twenty-two. _Why didn't he ever tell us? What happened to his energy?_ With these questions in mind, she left the shrine's storage shed and headed into town. She needed answers to her questions, and only her grandfather could give them.

**/\**

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The old man smiled as he felt his granddaughter approach his room. He knew the reason for why she was coming, as he knew that she'd come across the scrolls that had his history in it. And sure enough, she'd entered the room with a thoughtful look on her face. "Ji-san."

"I know Kagome, you found the scroll about the dark tournament."

"Hai." She admitted as she looked at him curiously. "Why did you never say anything? And what happened to all that power?"

He smiled at her. "I locked my energy away within part of my body. My friend, Genkai, spoke of creating a way to contain a massive amount of energy within a tiny space. My energy, as well as Yoshirou's is held within a tiny ball and locked away so that I can't use any of it."

"So what really happened to Uncle Yoshirou?"

"He died in the tournament during the final round. Only Ototo, Ani, Genkai, and myself survived. Before Yoshirou died though, he gave me the bulk of his power. So his power is trapped with mine within me, and like Genkai I had planned to pass mine along to an apprentice."

"Who is this Genkai?"

"A powerful psychic who was once a match for Ototo. He's known by Toguro though, and Ani is known as Elder Toguro. Their wish at the end of the tournament turned them into demons. Genkai wished that the tournament comity leave her alone for the rest of her life, and my wish was to be forgotten by the demons and comity."

"I read the scroll about her technique, the spirit wave. I plan on learning it so I can save Kohaku and perhaps use it against Naraku."

"I am ill Kagome, but I plan on helping you as best I can." The old man said with a smile. "I plan on passing on the bulk of my powers to you so that you stand a better chance against this enemy of yours."

"Ji-san?" She questioned sadly with tears in her eyes.

"I'd like for you to bring Souta as well so that he can receive my brother's powers."

**/\**

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"I'd like you to train me in earnest now Sango-chan. No more going easy, I want to know proper attack and defense."

The slayer looked at her 'little sister' with a bit of a stunned look before nodding somewhat grimly. "As it stands, searching for shards is a pointless move so we'll take this time to train properly."

"Now we simply need to convince Inuyasha." Kagome said with a bit of a pout.

"Which isn't going to happen." Said a masculine voice as the hanyou dropped from the trees. "You, Shippo, and I will be going out for two weeks at a time before returning to the village where you can train for a week or two before we do it again. You can go home each night that we're here in the village and I'll come get you if we need you."

Both girls stood there in shock for a moment before Kagome threw herself into Inuyasha's arms. "That's a brilliant idea!"

"Go home tonight and be back in the morning. We're leaving then."

"Hai." The miko agreed as she smiled brilliantly at him. "That'll give me a chance to tell my family of the new circumstances." She turned to leave, but paused a moment. Turning around, she looked apologetically at the hanyou. "It'll be late morning before I return, I just remembered that my grandfather asked a favor of me."

"So what? Can't the old man do it himself?"

Shaking her head sadly she replied, "no, he's in the hospital because he's dying. Souta and I are bringing him home in the morning so he can spend the last of his time at the shrine."

"When did this happen?" Sango questioned, wide eyed.

"He was in the hospital when I returned home;" was her reply as she disappeared back towards the well.

* * *

Here is chapter seven, and I hope you enjoy it!

**o0KittyBlue0o**** (Well I'm glad I could help you. Sorry about the huge break, but Winter vacation came up and I had almost no internet.)**

**OoOLady IndigoOoO**** (So do I.)**

**Kage Hasu**** (Maybe.)**

**sousie**** (I'll try to.)**


	8. Chapter VIII

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter VIII**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

_**(Hikari)**_

_**Kitsune**_

**Last Time:**

* * *

"So what? Can't the old man do it himself?"

Shaking her head sadly she replied, "no, he's in the hospital because he's dying. Souta and I are bringing him home in the morning so he can spend the last of his time at the shrine."

"When did this happen?" Sango questioned, wide eyed.

"He was in the hospital when I returned home." Was her reply as she disappeared back towards the well.

**This Time:**

Souta and Kagome both sat cross legged in front of their grandfather as he looked calmly between the two of them. The old man sighed softly before looking at the two of them with a small smile. "It's time you inherited the family's true power."

"Hai, ji-san." Souta said as he looked amazedly at his grandfather.

Ikiji closed his eyes and took a deep breath before focusing his mind on the matter at hand. Swirls of energy began forming around him as he pulled it from it's buried place within himself. Soon a ball of energy formed within each hand, one was a pale blue color and the other a dark blue. When Ikiji opened his eyes, they seemed older. "One orb is Yoshirou's power and one is mine. You will each receive one and train with it to become stronger. This orb will incorporate itself into your body, but it will cause you intense pain while it does. This should take up about two hours."

"We're ready." Souta stated as he braced himself for the pain. Kagome gave a nod of agreement as she kept her body completely relaxed.

"I will be giving each of you spirit cuffs in order to train you."

"Is that something like spirit bonds?" The miko questioned as she looked at her grandfather, "because if so, I already have them?"

"How?"

"Miroku." Was her simple reply.

"Alright, then I will place them upon Souta before we begin." Once he was done and had explained the energy manacles to her brother, he allowed the energy a life of it's own. The dark blue slammed into Kagome's body while the pale blue slammed into Souta's body. The energy tore through them both and caused agonizing pain. The boy dropped down to his knees and bit his lips to contain a scream, but Kagome merely closed her eyes and calmed herself. She'd been through worse. "I must rest now." The old man informed them before he walked inside.

Kagome watched as her grandfather left, before turning to face her brother and shaking her head. Gently pulling him up into her arms, she helped him make it over to the base of Goshinboku and lowered him so that he sat on the roots. The boy calmed slightly as the aura of the tree eased his pain. The energy within her was already being quickly assimilated at an extremely fast pace, but it was causing a tremendous amount of pain in order to do so. Sitting down beside her brother, she pulled him into her lap and began calmly running her fingers through his raven tresses.

Closing her sapphire eyes, she decided to call forth her energy and train with it like she normally tried to do daily. Slowly she drew her energy around herself and began forming weapons as well as pure energy balls. _**(Kagome.)**_ The voice had her turning within her own mind to see a little one tailed kitsune. _What is it? __**(I've collected enough power to become corporeal.)**__ So you're ready to leave my mind?_ The miko asked with a giggle. **(**_**Hai, you just need to help me.)**_

Slowly her blue eyes opened and power slowly surrounded her as she called forth her shenki and reiki. Even some youki was swirling in her aura as faint traces of emerald took hold in her eyes. Slowly some of her energy began forming a one tailed kitsune and hardening into a solid form. Slowly a pure white fox sat before her. It had a black star in the middle of its forehead and black swirls like Kirara's around its paws and tails. Kagome smiled at the small animal and picked her up and cuddled her.

"Kagome?" the voice had the miko looking to her side to see her little brother staring at her curiously. "What are you holding?"

"This is Hikari, and she's a kitsune. She's born of my soul's energy and we have a special connection." The young miko nuzzled the kit before smiling at her little brother. "I need to get back to Inuyasha, so do you think you'll be alright by yourself?"

"I'll be fine nee-san."

The miko nodded and stood to leave, easily making her way to the well house where her bag was stored and the well was waiting. Once she had the yellow monstrosity on her back, she simply vaulted over the edge of the wooden structure and allowed the blue light to envelope her. Landing in the feudal era, she easily made her way up the side using the vines and started heading for the village. She was met at the edge by her son who promptly threw himself into her arms, "momma!"

"I'm here baby." She giggled as she easily held him in her arms with Hikari sitting on her shoulder. "Now let's go find the others."

"Why's there another kitsune on your shoulder momma?"

"I'll explain when we reach the others sweetie." The boy nodded and quickly directed her to where the others were all waiting for her. When they also noticed the kit on her shoulder they all questioned her reason and Inuyasha stated that he wouldn't allow her to take in yet _another_ worthless fox, to which Shippo protested. "Hikari is a part of me Inuyasha."

"What?" He more demanded than asked.

"Hikari is a reflection of my soul, born from my energy. Kirara was Midoriko's soul spirit as well."

"Oh."

Miroku looked curious about that. "How long have you known about this?"

"A while, I released Hikari from within my energy but her consciousness stayed within my mind because she didn't have the strength needed to maintain a physical form. When Shippo and I bonded, I finally became able to understand her."

"Right, well let's just get going."

"Alright," Kagome agreed as she gave a nod to the kit on her shoulder. Said kit immediately leapt off and transformed into a larger form that reminded the others of Kirara, just not as large. With a smile, the miko climbed onto her back, quickly followed by Shippo. "She's not as large or powerful as Kirara, but Hikari only has one tail of power."

"Feh," the hanyou grunted out as he took to the trees. Clouds quickly formed around the kitsune's paws and she took to the air after the half dog demon.

It was later that night when the group had set camp when Kagome approached the hanyou. She was nervous, but knew that she needed to speak with him, "Inuyasha?"

"What is it wench?"

"I need to talk to you."

"What about?"

Sigh. "I know that Kikyo is nearby." He froze. "And there's something that I need to tell you before you go to her tonight."

"What is it Kagome?" He asked as he slipped from the tree to stand down near her.

"Promise you won't blow up and will remain quiet until I'm done?"

He nodded. "I promise."

"I found out that there _are_ demons in my time. For nearly a year I've been seeing one and he recently asked formally to court me. I agreed and, well, I love him. I just wanted you to know this so that you don't continue to feel bad about going to Kikyo."

"So you've moved on, with a demon from your time?" He asked calmly. At her nod, he sighed. "Though I believe you deserve better than some demon, I only want you to be happy and am glad for you."

"Really, I thought you would've blown up at me."

He sighed. "You know that I promised to descend to hell with Kikyo, this way I know that you'll be protected. Does he know about the jewel and your time traveling?"

"No, he thinks that I leave to train. Time traveling isn't exactly the most believable of stories."

The hanyou nodded with a chuckle. "I hope you know that I intend to meet him."

She smiled. "I figured, but you have to wear the clothes from my time that are at the shrine."

"Feh, whatever."

"And I'm going to see if maybe Shippo can come through the well too."

"I'm sure the runt would love that."

**/\**

**/\\**

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**\\-/**

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"I'm beginning to hate people." Kagome groaned as they made their way back to the village.

Inuyasha couldn't help but laugh at her for her choice of words. "You should've simply told them that you were being courted by a demon."

"I wanted them to leave me alone, not shun me." She grumbled.

Shippo giggled at that before he jumped from Hikari's back and started running with the dog hanyou. "So what now momma, there aren't any rumors."

"I want to go to Totosai's next trip." She whispered out.

"Why do ya wanna go to that old man's?" Inuyasha questioned.

"I want to see if he can make something for Hiei for me."

"Hiei?"

"My mate-to-be," she replied with a giggle.

"Kagome!" exclaimed a pregnant slayer as the four month along woman hurled herself at the younger girl. "It's about time you got back, come on it's time to train." And she was quickly dragged off to an open field to which Hikari had followed them to.

The miko was forced to train physically for hours, only getting to rest for a few minutes every two. As she trained, Sango drilled information into her head and told her things she'd need to know in different battles. Then her strength was tested as Sango forced her to push herself to her limits and beyond. She was then handed Sango's slayer sword and told which stances to take and told different ways to move. It was a little before noon when the small group had returned to the village and Sango drilled her until it was nearly dark. At that point, Miroku appeared to teach her control of her spirit energy.

Her mind was completely tired by the time everything was finished, and so she trudged to the hot spring to bathe in before she'd return home. Once she was safely within the confined warmth of the hot water, she closed her eyes started concentrating on practicing with her shenki. Slowly the energy became physical and snaked along her skin as she tried bending it to her will. When her eyes opened, she was thrilled to see that the energy had surrounded her. Now she needed to become able to summon the energy without the need to meditate first. While she had a long way to go, she was slowly making progress.

**/\**

**/\\**

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**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

The miko moaned in pure bliss as she fell, prone on her bed in a tired heap. She barely registered the fact that Hiei entered her window and slipped behind her while pulling her back into him. His nose nuzzled into her hair as he took in her scent and became content. "You seem out of it."

"Mmm…. tired." She barely managed to respond. "Sango and Miroku are evil slave drivers. I've been training all day and am expected back by dawn."

He chuckled as he allowed his arms to wrap around her. "I'm simply glad that I'll get to see you more often."

"Mmhmm…" The girl was practically asleep, and so he allowed her to rest.

It was three hours before dawn when she forced herself to wake up and disentangled herself from her lover's arms. Creeping over to her desk, she opened her laptop and began working on the homework that she'd need to get done. Hiei awoke an hour later and saw what she was doing. "You should be relaxing while you can."

"I _need_ to do my homework." She whispered out. "Inuyasha _never_ let's me get it done, so I'll do it in the mornings before I need to return."

"And you listen to this Inuyasha?"

"No." She answered with a giggle. "He can just be hard to ignore sometimes."

"Right," he said with a slight growl. "Well I need to go meet Kurama."

Her eyes snapped up at that. "Kurama's a friend of yours?"

"I suppose you could say that." The fire demon murmured.

She smiled at him. "You know, I'd love to meet your friends sometime Hiei."

**/\**

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Two weeks went by quickly, and Kagome was sad to think that it was now time for them to be leaving again. It was with a pout that she collected Shippo and Inuyasha so they could try the well. The miko was absolutely thrilled when it worked and immediately ushered everyone into the house. Sneaking into Souta's room, she borrowed some of his clothes for Shippo before grabbing the clothes which had been bought for Inuyasha. Both demons were immediately shoved into her room and told to hurry and change.

Shippo came out first, stating that the clothing was easy to put on while Inuyasha came out and demanded that she help with the zipper and buttons. Shaking her head at him, she quickly pulled the zipper on his pants up before buttoning his shirt. "Come on, let's get going."

"Coming momma," the kit exclaimed happily as he picked up Hikari and hid her with an illusion. "Now only those with high energy can sense her."

"Yes, and you look like the cutest human boy I've ever seen." Kagome giggled as she kissed his cheek. His once reddish gold hair was pure gold and his emerald green eyes gleamed with mischief.

"Feh! Let's just get the damn supplies."

Smack! "Watch your language Inuyasha."

"Feh!"

Shaking her head, she took Shippo's hand and began leading the small group away from the shrine. Before they completely reached the city though, Kagome stopped them and walked behind Inuyasha. Quickly she braided his hair, which he whined about, then she fixed his hat. "There we go."

The hanyou began grumbling, but she ignored him as she once again started leading the two toward the mall. When they reached it, none of them were paying attention or they would have noticed that Hiei was there with Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara, though they all noticed Kagome and the demon energy which surrounded the boy and man. So they all ended up following the group. "What do you think she's doing with those demons?" Kuwabara questioned as he looked at her.

Yusuke was the one to answer. "No idea."

"Hiei and I will follow her. We'll contact you if we need help." Kurama stated, and received a nod from the man.

"Well Inuyasha?"

"Ramen wench." Smack! "I meant Kagome dammit." Smack! "Would you quit it?"

"Good boy, you didn't cuss or call me names that time." She said with a giggle as she pat his head.

"Well I want candy. Lots of candy," said a golden haired little boy.

"Of course sweetie," Kagome agreed. "Now what, besides ramen, do you want Inuyasha?"

"Ninja food," a growl. "What?"

"Do you ever think of anything besides food?"

"Kikyo," was his snapped response.

"I already _knew_ that one." The girl grumbled as she glared at him. "If you don't come up with something, besides food, to look at, we're going to a toy store. And don't you _dare_ attack them this time."

"Feh!" the hanyou exclaimed as he crossed his arms and looked away from her.

"Or maybe we'll go to the pet store so I can get a collar and a leash for you." Shippo giggled at her words as Inuyasha glared. However, the hanyou's ears twitched as he heard a chuckle and so he opened his senses and turned toward two demons who were looking at them. Well, one was _glaring_ at _him_. "What is it Inuyasha?"

"Demons."

The girl sighed and turned to look at where he was looking before her eyes lit up. "Kurama, Hiei!" And she was about to race over to them when the hanyou grabbed her arm. The two demons tensed, but she simply turned to him with an innocent look, and sweetly said "Inuyasha." The half dog demon winced and quickly released her, causing the kit to snicker. The girl then raced to the two demons and threw her arms around Hiei. "I didn't know you'd be here today."

"Momma, who's he?"

That had them turning to the innocent looking kit. "This is Kurama, and this is Hiei."

"Is Hiei the one courting you?"

"How did you know it wasn't me who was courting her?" Youko asked as he pushed to the front of the body.

"You're not momma's type." Was his simple reply before he turned to the fire demon and his eyes widened. "You're nearly as powerful as Fluffy-sama."

Hiei simply looked at the kit, and Kagome giggled. "That's a compliment as 'Fluffy' is low to mid taiyoukai statused." The demon's eyes widened slightly at that as Shippo snickered.

"And you should be proud of mating momma." Then he shook his head, "standing up to the evil youkai even _after_ he tried melting her with his poison."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "That was two years ago Shippo."

"He still tried to do it."

"Yeah, and you tried stealing from me when we first met, Miroku kidnapped me, Sango attacked us, and even Kouga kidnapped me."

"You have strange friends then." Kurama commented.

"Pretty much," she agreed with a smile.

"Can we just get the damn supplies?"

Smack! "I told you to watch your language Inuyasha."

"You never give a fuck any other time."

Smack! "Maybe I want to be civilized for once… unlike some people." A pointed glare was sent to the hanyou to which he 'feh'ed and turned away, "baka inu." The girl grumbled before turning back to the other two men, and the snickering kit.

"Hey!"

Kurama couldn't help but chuckle at their antics, for it was quite amusing. His action received a slight glare from Hiei, but he ignored it. "So what are these 'supplies' that you need?"

"Ramen," Inuyasha declared.

You could just see the girl's eye twitching as she tried keeping herself from saying a certain word. Instead, she calmly turned to the hanyou, and smacked the back of his head as hard as she could; toppling him over and onto his face as well as knocking his hat off. "We are not here simply for your noodles."

"That's right, momma needs some new kimono since most of hers got ruined." The kit declared.

That had the two demon's eyes snapping onto them. "Well if the wench would quit attracting demons, then maybe they wouldn't get ruined." I'll give you one guess on who said that.

"_I_ attract demons?" She questioned as she turned to him. He immediately shrunk back from her glare and tried to make himself invisible. Turning back to the others with a deceptively sweet smile, she questioned; "would you like to walk around with us?"

The two agreed and Kagome easily began leading them all through the stores. First was a toy store, and they watched as the kit's eyes enlarged as he looked around at everything before looking up at the girl, "momma?"

"_Any_ three toys."

With a squeal, he took off to begin searching. Inuyasha kept his mouth shut, amazingly, too scared that Kagome might do 'it' in public. Kurama chuckled, and Hiei rolled his eyes. It was the kitsune whom spoke to her. "Are you sure that was wise Kagome?"

With a smile, she nodded. "He deserves any toys he wants."

A few minutes later saw the kit carrying three inexpensive toys toward them. One was a white stuffed dog that looked really soft and had Inuyasha glaring at it. "What is that thing, runt?"

The boy stuck his tongue out at the hanyou before turning back to his mother. "I wanted to get something for Rin-chan."

"And I'm sure she'll love it." The girl replied with a proud smile. "Now let's go pay for these."

After that was done, the group made their way to a clothing store; to the groans of Inuyasha and the resistance of Hiei. Shippo happily complied though, stating that he wanted a new outfit to match his mommy's. He ended up getting black hakama and a turquoise colored haori. Kagome simply flicked through several things, grabbing what she thought would be nice before making sure everything fit. All in all, they weren't in the store very long which surprised the men.

"What do you need now?" Kurama questioned as he smiled at the young woman.

"A new sleeping bag… then we have to get the _ramen_." A 'yes' was heard from a certain inu and she sent a glare his way. "_You're_ the only one eating it Inuyasha. I'll hunt if I must."

"More ramen for me," once everything was purchased that they needed, it was time to head back to the shrine. Kurama offered to accompany them, which Kagome accepted. Hiei decided that he'd prefer to flit along the roof tops instead of walk with them though. "How come _he_ can do that and _I_ can't?"

"Because he's an apparition, not a puppy," Shippo mumbled. Only Kurama, Kagome, and Hiei heard it though. The fire demon then decided that he liked the kit.

"Remember the _last_ time I let you out of my sight in the city?" Kagome questioned with a small smile. "Mr. _Dogman._"

The hanyou blushed, 'feh'ed, and turned away, causing the others to chuckle. "Evil, worthless wench," he mumbled as they reached the park near the shrine. Shippo started growling at that, as did Hiei when he appeared near them, and even Kurama seemed perturbed by the hanyou's words. The girl, however, simply smiled at the inu, causing him to pale considerably. Her face may look innocent, but her eyes clearly promised pain. He started backing away from her. "You wouldn't, I mean we're _in_ public."

The kit suddenly smirked as he cast an illusion around them, making the hanyou pale farther. "Inuyasha…" That voice was unnaturally sweet, and the half inu gulped. "Sit boy." Bam! Deep breath. "Sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit and sit." Twitch twitch. _Many _curse words and swears were heard after that, and Kagome simply rose a brow at him. "Say something Inuyasha?" He instantly quieted and shook his head negatively. "Good." And she turned, leaving two stunned demons, one hanyou in pain, and the kit was trailing her while laughing madly.

When the demons finally realized that the girl left, they quickly caught up to her. Kurama glanced at her for a moment before questioning "what happened back there?"

"The necklace he wears is called 'beads of subjugation'. Kaede-baba put them on him when he tried killing me after he saved me from a centipede demon. All I have to do is say the word 'sit'" thump "and he's forced down to the ground."

"He tried killing you? And you still trust him?"

"He had just been betrayed before we met, and he thought everyone was like that. The one who betrayed him was the first to ever show care for him as he'd been shunned his entire life. He's learned to trust since then."

"Feh!" cue rolling eyes.

**/\**

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**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

Their progress was slow as they made their way from village to village on the way to Totosai's forge. After three days, they finally made it to the home of the sword smith, "hey old man!"

The exclamation had the miko shaking her head as she whacked the inu on the back of his head. "Totosai-san, are you here?" She called out as she stepped toward the entrance of the cave.

An old haggard looking man appeared from deep within the cave and he looked at them curiously, "ah, hello Inuyasha, Kagome."

"I've come to ask a favor, Totosai-san." Kagome said as she smiled at him. "I'd like it if you would make a sword for me. Well, for someone I know."

"And who would this someone be?"

"A demon that is courting me," was her simple response. "When one receives the first courting gift, they're supposed to give the male a gift to show that the courting is accepted."

"What kind of sword would you be wanting?"

"Umm…" Looking over at Inuyasha, she quickly shoved him outside and told him to go away so she could talk to the smith in private. Though he grumbled, he did as told. "Can you make something that can channel extremely hot fire and chilling ice? And can contain the darkness flame?"

"Darkness flame?" the old man questioned.

"Hai, he controls the dragon and has a jagan eye." She replied with a smile. "He actually has contained the dragon within his own body, there's a tattoo of it on his right arm."

"Interesting," the old man murmured. "I think I can create a weapon to suit this demon, but tell me this; what breed is he?"

"A fire/ice mix."

"I thought so." He said with a nod. "I have an idea for the perfect sword, and there are several things that I am going to need. This sword will take quite some time to make."

"I completely understand Totosai-san."

* * *

I hope that you enjoy this chapter, as I hope you've enjoyed the previous ones. I'm sorry to say that I already finished this story but have yet to have time to post it with everything that is happening. I'll try to post updates a week apart at the latest.

**There are fourteen chapters.**

**KagHieiLuver (Yep.)**

**sousie (Too bad.)**

**Music ADD (It's there for Kagome.)**

**Foxluna (She won't be able to enter the tournament, but you'll see why when the time comes. She'll definitely be strong. The fox spirit is Hikari, and she'll be protective. I'll try to get updates out faster, since I already finished the story.)**

**Eva318 (I'll try to be faster with my updates next time.)**


	9. Chapter IX

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter IX**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

_**(Hikari)**_

_(Tsuki)_

_**Kitsune**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

"A fire/ice mix."

"I thought so." He said with a nod. "I have an idea for the perfect sword, and there are several things that I am going to need. This sword will take quite some time to make."

"I completely understand Totosai-san."

**This Time:**

The group was steadily making their way towards the north when they were attacked by a large group of demons who were after their Shikon no kakera. Inuyasha pulled tetsusaiga, Shippo used foxfire, Hikari morphed into her lager form to use her fangs and claws, and Kagome forwent her bow so she could simply use blasts of reiki to obliterate the low levels. For some reason though, her energy felt really low. Shards of energy blasted from her palms as she took out as many as she could. When all the demons were finally dead, she picked up the exhausted kits and followed Inuyasha's hurried pace to get away from the spot where more demons were approaching.

By the time the group finally stopped to take a rest, more demons had popped up out of seemingly no where and another fight was forced to be had. Since Kagome had carried Hikari and Shippo, they were in better condition to fight than the other two were. Inuyasha continued slashing with his tetsusaiga, and even cast the wind scar a couple of times. They knew Naraku was behind the attacks, as there were several saimyosho there as well.

Kagome sent several blasts of reiki out before falling back to her bow and arrows. She could imbue quite a bit more power into them, and they'd kill anything with the barest touch. Therefore her hama no ya were far more effective for this kind of battle. She'd also managed to draw her energy into the wood of the bow so she could smack demons who got to close with it and purify them. When demons snuck up too close to her allies, she'd forgo the arrow and send blasts of reiki at the opposing foe. And demons that got too close to her from behind were met with sharp claws and fangs, or blue flame.

The group made slow progress disposing of the threat that the hundreds of demons held. When they'd finally destroyed the challenge, Inuyasha was panting and Kagome was about to collapse. Shippo was trembling from the strain on his energy while Hikari had collapsed and shrank into her smaller form. The miko slowly pushed her exhaustion away and gathered the two kitsune into her arms and ordered Inuyasha to find them a cave to stay in for the night. While the girl couldn't create a barrier, she'd be able to place an energy shield at the mouth of the cave.

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It was the dead of night and Kagome had to sneak past several demons in order to make it to the nearby hot spring. Inuyasha had decided that he wanted to be annoying and had managed to attract even more demons to where they were staying. It had been a week since they'd left the village and they'd been being attacked by swarms of demons on a daily basis. So at the moment, the miko simply wanted to relax and take a nice hot bath. A mew had her attention turning to see that a small neko was trailing behind her. It was a tiny black one that had small white paws and a small white diamond on its forehead.

Shrugging off the little fact that it was following her, she simply continued on to the springs. The kitten followed her as well. She quickly stripped and sank into the welcoming heat of the spring with a sigh. The little kitten mewed and sat down on the bank while tilting its head at her. Giggling, she closed her eyes and relaxed further into the water. The kitten stayed there the entire time, but the miko didn't mind. In Kagome's opinion, it was too short a time before she had to return to their 'camp'. In essence, they were once again in a cave.

When she came to the 'barrier', which was in essence a seal. Miroku had taught her to make offuda, and she'd used them in a sealing spell, or at least what she had hoped as one. They were offuda that Miroku had essentially given her before she had left the village. Anyways, she had taken them down before allowing the neko inside and sealing the entrance back up. It'd be taken down once more when Inuyasha arrived, then replaced instantly.

Hikari and Shippo both were asleep, so neither commented on her new companion. The miko giggled though as the kitten curled up on her chest when she laid down. Closing her eyes, she sighed in exhaustion as she allowed herself to fall into a somewhat restless sleep. Her strength seemed to slowly be draining from her, and so she really needed her rest. Inuyasha did not return that night, instead seeking shelter in one of the trees after slaying countless youkai.

**/\**

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Their pace was extremely rushed as Inuyasha led them through the forest of trees. Inuyasha was exceedingly worried as the girl he traveled with had become increasingly ill, and it all happened after she'd been caught on the receiving end of a poisoned attack. He noticed that she had also been weakening and her scent had become tinted with a slight illness that he could not place. This was why he was pushing them faster, and when the village finally came into sight, he sighed in relief. He quickly ushered the girl to Kaede's as Shippo ran off to play, and he was almost immediately kicked out. The little neko and Hikari remained though.

The examination did not take long and Kaede sat before her softly when finished. "Kagome child, what breed did ye say this demon lover of yes was?"

Though confused as to why she was thusly questioned, she still answered. "He is half hi youkai and half koori youkai."

The old woman nodded at that. "That would explain part of it. Ye are with child, though I know not how."

"B-but… I _can't_ be." She whispered in denial as her eyes widened in shock. "I took precautions every… time…" Her voice trailed off as vague images of Hiei bringing her to completion with his fingers and tongue as she knocked over a certain bottle came to mind. "Oh gods… So I'm a month and a half along."

"Nay child, ye are nearly three months. His demon blood coupled with yes miko powers have progressed it at a rapid rate. At the current rate ye will give birth in two and a half to three and a half months. Ye are carrying like a youkai female would. Also due to the fact of your new kitsune blood, it is acting like a kitsune pregnancy. Inuyasha can not sense it because in essence there is nothing to sense. Kitsune carry energy within them that will not show and form until a week before the child is to be born."

"But why am I so weak? Why is my energy feeling so drained?"

"Ye are unmated and unable to draw off the power of yes mate. Another Koorime could lend you energy, including yes mate, but ye would need to have physical contact with them. There is a way to halt the pregnancy without harming thy child if ye wish it."

"There is?" Kagome questioned curiously.

"Hai."

The young miko thought for a few moments before shaking her head. "I wish to discuss things will my mother and my lover before I decide upon a course of action… but Iam afraid of Hiei's reaction to this news. I am not sure that he would want a child."

"The most ye can do is offer him this alternative."

Kagome nodded and stood with a sad smile on her tired and worn face. It was still quite early in the morning, so she decided to visit home for the day. Kaede had given her more potion to get rid of her newly accumulated scars, and she smiled thankfully before slowly making her way outside only to be greeted with an overly worried hanyou. She quickly explained to him that she needed some rest and that she was going home for the time being but would return shortly. He nodded his agreement and let her walk off with the little neko and kitsune following her.

It was not long before she came across Goshinboku and sighed as she relaxed against it for a few moments. The tree gave off a pulse and the miko felt slightly better, but only a little. The tiny neko mewed up at her and she giggled as she reached down to pick the little animal up. "I wish you could tell me your name."

"Mew!" The kitten announced happily as it jumped up and cut a small gash along the now surprised girl's palm before licking its own paw and biting a mark before looking at her expectantly. The miko suddenly laughed joyously as she lowered her hand and allowed the neko to place its paw over the small cut. A white light surround the two before a small voice was heard in her head. _(My name is Tsuki.)_

Another giggle escaped the miko's lips as she looked down at the little kitten. "It's nice to meet you Tsuki. Would you like to come home with me?"

The kitten's eyes widened before they filled with complete happiness and she nodded her head. _(I would be honored, mistress.)_

"Oh no, not you too!" The girl exclaimed in a tired giggle. At the kitten's curious gesture, she smiled. "My name is Kagome, please don't call me 'mistress'."

The kitten simply cocked its head to the side. _(But you have taken me in, making you my master/mistress.)_

"Who'd refuse to take care of such a cute creature?"

The kitten shied away at that. _(I am youkai.)_

"So is Hikari." The miko murmured. "So is Shippo, Kirara, Inuyasha, and Hiei. Youkai or ningen, it makes no difference to me. We are all the same, equals."

The kitten was surprised for a moment before jumping up to nuzzle her. _(I only have one tail right now, but I promise I'll protect you.)_

The miko giggled as she rose from her relaxed position against Goshinboku before heading toward the well, Hikari on one shoulder and Tsuki on the other. A sudden question came to mind though. "How old are you Tsuki?"

_(Two years.)_

"Don't you have a family?"

_(Two brothers and a little sister. They found masters already though.)_

"Oh."

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

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Kagome sighed as she pulled on a comfortable royal blue kimono. A smile tilted her lips as she admired it in the mirror. She knew it was odd for a girl her age to wear this kind of garment instead of something like a skirt and tank top. Though currently she'd probably be required to wear pants and a long sleeved shirt as it _was_ rather chilly. Making her way down the steps, she bumped into her grandfather who asked a favor of her and she agreed with a smile and a nod.

He'd asked to be taken to an old friend's shrine, and though it was several hours by any mode of transportation she decided to have Hikari help out. The kit eagerly agreed, as did Tsuki and they were soon outside. She'd helped her grandfather onto Hikari's back before she was shocked at seeing Tsuki's transformed state. With a warm smile she slid onto the neko's back and directed both animal's on where to go.

Her grandfather questioned her about being seen, but she assured him that they wouldn't be. She'd made sure to cast an illusion over them that Shippo had taught her. He'd smiled and stated how proud he was of her skills and she happily thanked him for the compliment. It was maybe an hour later that they reached the bottom steps of the shrine and began ascending as the two animals had resumed their small forms and were told to rest.

There were many steps, but it wasn't too bad. Kagome was still having a difficult time because of her exhaustion, but she'd managed to deal with far worse in the past two weeks. When they finally crested the steps, Kagome paused as she heard the sounds of fighting and then was floored by the feeling of hundreds of youkais. Quickly ushering her grandfather around the shrine, they became faced with the sight of a battle. The girl recognized several people there, Yusuke, Kazuma, Kurama, and even Hiei. There was also a girl with turquoise hair and crimson eyes, a demon she thought, and an old woman with brown eyes and pink hair;_ Genkai?_ Ignoring that, she turned her attention to the demoness who stood behind the men on the porch. The men noticed far too late that a demon had snuck past their defenses and not one of them would be able to do a thing to save the girl.

Kagome looked to Hiei and noticed a flash of fear and panic pass through his eyes before her own took on a determined glint. Just as the demon struck, a deep violet barrier sprang around the scared demoness; this caused the hundreds of demons to turn to her as her eyes narrowed at them. Oh how she loathed lesser youkai. Turning to the old man beside her, she ordered him to help the demoness while she helped fight off the hoard. He nodded and her hand rose as she looked calmly at the youkai trying to break her barrier. Her hand raised and energy shot forth tearing it to pieces in mere moments. Her eyes then turned to the other demons and those who were seemingly protecting the shrine.

Kagome entered the battle and took out several demons with her energy blasts, surprising the others who were also fighting. One demon got pretty close to her, and before the others could shout a warning a roar shattered its surprise attack as a large neko youkai pinned it and tore into its throat. The sound of a neck snapping echoed around them before another ferocious roar was heard and a large kitsune dove into the fray. The two animals were protecting the woman and tearing into anything that got too close. Soon though, exhaustion began catching up to her and she growled darkly. Both animals looked to her before moving quickly behind her.

Genkai also spared her a glance before ordering everyone behind the girl, and though confused, none argued. As soon as they were out of the way, Kagome mumbled a few words with her eyes closed before opening them to reveal completely dark blue orbs. Power seemingly wrapped around her before lashing out at all those in its path. Two simple words and all the approaching demons were completely destroyed. "Shock wave."

The words were quiet, but there was power laced in her voice as the energy released from her body and lashed out in defense of those around her. As soon as the energy dissipated, she began to collapse, but Hikari quickly shot forward to catch her. _**"Mistress!"**_ The shout was distressed and surprised and confused Kurama as he watched the kit catch the woman using its large body.

The girl mumbled something incoherent before shakily rising to her feet, though the kit was supporting most of her weight. The neko quickly moved to her as well and added to her aid. "I'm alright." She managed to say so softly that he and Hiei barely heard her.

"What the fuck are you doing here Kagome, and how the fuck did you do that?" Yusuke suddenly asked as he snapped from his shocked state at her power display.

"I'm here because my grandfather wished to visit Genkai-sama and I did it because I'm special." She grumbled as she nearly collapsed, but the two animals moved closer to her.

"How the fuck do you know about demons?"

"Yusuke, can I assume that you know Kagome?" Kurama questioned curiously.

He shrugged with a grin. "You could say that, her friends came up to me and told me she thought I was hot… then she told her friends off for lying and tried to disappear away from them. Do you know her Kurama?"

"Hai, I bumped into her close to two months ago."

"Your grandfather?" Genkai questioned before turning to the old man. Her eyes widened and shock showed on her face as she looked at him, "Ikiji?"

The old man smiled at her. "Hai, Akari."

"Akari?" Yusuke questioned as the old woman's eyes widened farther.

"How…? What…? Why are you here?" Genkai finally managed to ask as the old man smiled.

Kagome merely attempted to remain on her feet throughout the exchange, as she already knew how they knew each other. When Yusuke and Kazuma _both_ burst out with questions, she sighed in annoyance and cleared her throat; gaining everyone's attention. "Perhaps we could go someplace more comfortable to talk?"

"Right," Genkai agreed with a nod, "into the sitting room."

The men all started that way with Ikiji following Genkai while Kagome attempted to follow. Yukina came over to her side with a smile and offered assistance, "thank-you, for saving me with that barrier."

The miko smiled in return. "You're welcome." When Yukina reached out and took hold of her arm to help her, she nearly gasped in shock as her own wide eyes turned onto the miko. Kagome cocked her head to the side in question as the two animals shrank and followed after her. "What is it?"

"You are pregnant." The crimson eyed girl whispered as she helped her into the sitting room. Kagome was surprised, but glad that no one else heard that as she had yet to be able to talk to her lover. Hikari morphed into her larger form when they reached the room and laid down on the floor. Taking the hint, Kagome shifted and moved to relax against the kit. Yukina asked to sit with her also as Tsuki curled up into her lap. She gave an affirmative nod and as Yusuke and Kazuma began firing questions off at the two older people, Kagome felt her eyes widen as energy began pouring into her.

Turning to look at Yukina, she noticed the girl had a slight smile as the girl's hand rested upon her arm. She gave a small thankful smile before turning back to the others, "quiet dimwit."

Yusuke quieted as he looked to the annoyed looking old woman. "Then why not let us in on what's going on?"

"Ikiji was an old friend of mine back when I met Toguro." Genkai explained softly as she looked at the man. "I haven't seen or heard from him since the end of that Dark Tournament."

"He went to the dark tournament?" Kuwabara questioned.

"He participated."

"But he has no energy."

"That's my grandfather you're talking about Kazuma." Kagome growled out with a slight glare.

"It's alright Kagome, he's merely stating a fact." Ikiji offered.

"And doubting another one," she huffed slightly, though her mood was starting to lighten the more energy the girl next to her shared with her. Speaking of which, she turned to the girl. "By the way, my name is Higurashi, Kagome."

"I am Aisu, Yukina." And cue surprised gasp. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I've simply heard that last name before." She quickly murmured. "I read it in a history scroll on the shrine." Hey, it was _half_ true.

"Back to the whole old man participating in the Dark Tournament thing," Yusuke grumbled as he turned away from the two.

Genkai gave a defeated sigh and started telling the story of how her and the two Toguro brothers had needed two more members, and how she'd asked Ikiji and his brother, Yoshirou, to join them; then of how the tournament had gone and how Yoshirou had died in the final round against the last team. Kagome ignored the entire story though and simply relaxed against the kit as her body seemed to loosen. She never noticed as both Hiei and Kurama's eyes flickered to them and that they'd noticed the energy transfer. Instead, her mind began replaying her conversation with her mother.

_"Tadaima momma!" She exclaimed as she'd entered the door._

_ "Welcome home dear." The older woman said happily before a frown marred her features at seeing how tired her daughter looked. "Are you alright dear?"_

_ "Will you make some tea for us momma?"_

_ That worried the older woman slightly but she nodded and set to work on heating the water. When the tea was ready, she set a cup in front of her daughter who took a sip and one before herself as she sat down at the table as well. Reaching across the table, she grasped her daughter's hand and gave her a soft smile. "What's wrong Kagome?"_

_ The girl looked up at her mother with tears forming in her beautiful sapphire eyes. "I'm pregnant momma, and I don't know what to do."_

_ The older woman's eyes widened in surprised shock as she quickly moved around the table and hugged her child to her chest. Her fingers soothingly ran through the long black hair as she stroked them through in a calm manner. "You're going to take care of this child Kagome, and I'll be right here to help you."_

_ "But that's just it momma! I need Hiei to help me or I might not make it! The child requires a lot of energy which I can only gather from a Koorime and he's the only one I know that can help because he's the child's father! I don't even know that he wants children!" Tears were now streaming down her face as she sobbed into her mother's loving embrace. "What if he leaves me because of this? What if he hates our child for being hanyou? What if he hates me for allowing this to happen?"_

_ Her mother gently shushed her as she pressed her fingers to the girl's rosen lips. "How far along are you?"_

_ "A month and a half, but the pregnancy has already nearly progressed passed the first trimester. It'll be three or four months before it's born."_

_ The woman still ran her fingers soothingly through the girl's hair as she hummed a little, managing to calm the girl down. "Hiei would not leave you because of this, if anything he will stay as his honor demands it. I know he will not hate this child for being hanyou, as neither shall you. And you know these things Kagome, you are merely in shock already and too stressed out. These things are not good for the pregnancy. Now take a few deep breathes and calm down."_

_ The girl nodded before turning to look at her mother. "There's another option momma. I can halt the pregnancy by taking an herb to suspend it where it is. It's not harmful to the baby, but it will require another herb to unsuspended it."_

_ The older woman thought for a moment before nodding to herself. "The choice is yours sweetie, no one else should make it for you; though you should think things over before coming to your decision. This is just like when you turned sixteen and you came to me concerning your love for Inuyasha. You told me then that you loved him and if he chose you, you'd wish to remain with him by mating him. And after that I took you to get birth control just in case, but told you it was your life and that the decision was yours. Then you came to me after he'd broke your heart and had disappeared from him. You told me you'd met someone, a demon, and that you had taken him as a lover. I had been shocked at first but eventually accepted it after meeting him and realizing that he could protect you when you wished to go out with him. This is your decision, just like those times."_

_ Kagome turned to her with a sad smile at that. "I don't know yet what I plan to do, because I wish to speak with Hiei before I decide. But momma…?"_

_ "Hai Kagome?"_

_ "If I have the baby now instead of taking the herb, will you take care of my child while I finish my quest?"_

_ The older woman smiled brightly and gave a happy little laugh. "Of course I'd be willing to watch my grandchild!"_

"Kagome," the voice calling her name snapped her from her memories and she focused her attention onto her grandfather as he smiled at her and shook her head. "You weren't paying any attention to the tale, were you?"

She pouted at that and huffed. "I already know what happened."

He chuckled and shook his head before turning back to the old woman. "You asked why I chose now to come, well I will not live much longer and I wished to see my old friends. Do you know where Ototo and perhaps a man name Shinobu are?"

Kagome's whole attention snapped to the others upon hearing her grandfather's question. Genkai was the one who answered. "Dead. Yusuke killed Toguro in the last Dark Tournament that his team was forced into, and he killed Sensui for trying to unleash Makai upon us."

_My father was… a bad guy?_ How wonderful, she was the daughter of an evil man. She bet Naraku would get a kick out of that one. A mew drew everyone's attention to the kitten in her lap as it perked and looked out the window. "It's late." Kagome commented as she saw that the sky was beginning to darken.

"Perhaps we could stay here for the night?" Ikiji questioned, to which Genkai nodded.

The girl merely sighed at that, but Yukina smiled. "I'll go prepare dinner, would you care to help me Kagome-san?"

"Of course Yukina-san," the girl whispered as she managed to rise easily to her feet. The two animals hopped up and were alert as they followed the girls.

"Your granddaughter has high reiki in order to pull that technique off, have you been training her?" Genkai questioned as she turned to the old man.

Said old man shook his head. "She trains with someone named Miroku, but mostly she has taught herself."

"She doesn't _feel_ like she has high reiki." Yusuke commented. "And how does she know about demons?"

Genkai chuckled. "Look at who she's related to, dimwit."

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

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**\\/**

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Kagome stealthily crept outside as the darkness surrounded the compound which was the shrine. Her conversation with Yukina ran through her head and she had to smile at the intelligence of the young demoness. Yukina had told her she'd assumed the father of Kagome's child was Hiei, her twin brother, as he was the only one capable of getting her pregnant with a Koorime child. She'd also giggled and told her that Hiei didn't know that she knew, and she'd also offered to play mid-wife since a hospital was out of the question.

It was then that Yukina filled her in on Koorime pregnancies as she doubted that Hiei knew much. Kagome had then informed her of the slight kitsune blood she carried from adopting her young kit who was staying with friends and how the kit in her stomach was growing at a fire youkai pace but like a kitsune. The ice maiden giggled at that as well, and so did Kagome when she thought about it. Her child grew like a hi youkai, formed like a kitsune youkai, and required energy like a koori youkai. She decided then that her child would be extremely special.

Returning her mind to her surroundings, she shivered at the chill in the air. Her eyes had already adjusted to the almost total darkness and she peered around for any sign of Hiei that she could find, knowing that he was here somewhere. She spotted him in a tree a little ways away and began trekking towards it while ignoring the slight chill. Yukina had loaned her a night gown and it wasn't all that warm to be out in at this time of year, "Hiei."

Her call was met with his eyes opening to look down at her before they scanned the area to make sure no one else was around. He dropped down quickly, wrapped an arm around her waist and jumped back into his tree. She giggled, but relaxed into him as his energy began instantly soothing what Yukina's could not. "Why was Yukina giving you energy earlier?"

She tensed. "You noticed that?"

"Hai."

She sighed. "Please don't be mad at me Hiei, but… I carry your child." The last words were spoken softly and held a slight fear as her eyes averted to the ground, so she didn't notice the widening of his eyes. When he remained quiet, tears slowly began to fall. "I'm sorry Hiei, I didn't mean for it to happen. It's just that that night you were so… and I was…"

The hi youkai effectively silenced her as he sealed his lips to hers in a gentle, almost loving kiss. When he pulled back, he allowed his arms to pull her body tightly against his own, though he was careful not to hold to tight. "I am not mad, only surprised." He said softly as he continued to hold her close. "Though I am curious as to how I hadn't noticed."

"The pregnancy is progressing like it would for a fire demoness, but its acting like a vixen's as it won't show until a week before it is to be born; though it requires energy like a Koorime's pregnancy."

Her soft explanation had his eyes widening in realization. "So you've been exhausting easier?"

"Hai, if not for Yukina, I doubt I'd still be able to move at the moment." She said with a giggle. "As she's full Koorime, she sensed it and started sharing energy to help me out."

His hold on her tightened, as he looked to her, "how far along are you?"

"A month and a half."

He nodded. "So you will give birth in three and a half months."

The girl nodded as she looked up at him. "You'll stay with me through this?"

His crimson orbs slowly looked into her own sapphire in near disbelief. "Of course I will."

A seemingly happy smile touched her lips. "Promise you won't stay simply because I carry your child? That you'll only stay because you want to be with me?"

"Kagome, where is this coming from?" Hiei questioned as he looked down at her. "I told you I wish you to be my mate."

"But I _know_ you don't love me." She replied. "I want you to be happy and I don't want you to feel obligated to be with me simply because I carry a kit, pup, I mean child."

He chuckled at her. "I remember you speaking of Inuyasha getting you into the habit of calling a child a pup, but a kit?"

"Shippo's my kit and I _do_ have some of his kitsune blood inside me." She said with a pout.

Smiling at her, he allowed his hold to tighten. "Kagome, I do not feel obligated to be with you. I am with you because I wish to be."

Curling closer to him, she smiled as her body completely relaxed. "You never told me you were a 'Spirit Detective'."

"I'm not, and I didn't know you knew about them."

"Ojii-sama told me about them, starting with the first and going up to Shinobu Sensui who he said was the last he knew of."

"I had no idea your grandfather knew Genkai."

"I learned a little while ago when I read something kept in the shrine shed. It documented the Dark Tournament and told of how their team won. It also spoke of several of their abilities."

"Where did you learn the technique you did today?"

"I taught myself. I used theory to construct it, but today was the first day I attempted it. It's also the first time I managed to erect a barrier."

"You fought well." The fire demon complimented. "But you aren't to fight youkai anymore."

"What? Why?" Kagome asked as she looked up at him, a little perturbed.

"You will endanger yourself and our child if you do."

She pouted. "I'm _still_ training."

"Fine." He agreed to that one. She could train all she wanted, but he wanted her home every night.

* * *

. I hope that you enjoyed it, and to let you know; it registers at forty-five pages. And I wish to thank everyone who reviewed and/or read this chapter. I hope you all know that I enjoy hearing from you and comments are much appreciated.

**Eva318 (Here's an update.)**

**Lina03 (No problem. I'm glad you like it.)**

**LadyAkina (Here it is.)**

**KagHieiLuver (Wow, I haven't heard from you in forever.)**


	10. Author Note

If you care please copy, sign and post this.

Petition:

I, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that (I believe) violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in it's original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

(Personal: I do have lemons in my stories.)

forum. fanfiction topic/111772/63683250/1/#63698621

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Chrystal-Hearts


	11. Chapter X

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter X**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

_**(Hikari)**_

_(Tsuki)_

_**Kitsune**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

"You fought well." The fire demon complimented. "But you aren't to fight youkai anymore."

"What? Why?" Kagome asked as she looked up at him, a little perturbed.

"You will endanger yourself and our child if you do."

She pouted. "I'm _still_ training."

"Fine." He agreed to that one. She could train all she wanted, but he wanted her home every night.

**This Time:**

Kagome awoke surrounded by warmth and far too comfortable to be in her bed. Looking around, she realized that she was still in Hiei's strong embrace and was sleeping against his heated body. Though she was awake, her breathing remained even so that she could remain like this for a while longer. _**(Mistress, your grandfather is searching for you.)**_

A sigh escaped her lips as she slowly shifted so that she was sitting up. "I need to return to the shrine Hiei."

He nodded and dropped down with her in his arms, she smiled at him and gave him a kiss before she turned to leave. His hand caught her wrist and turned her to face him as he did so. "I wish to see you later."

"I'll be home tonight." She assured him with a smile. "But I need to train today." He gave her a nod and she walked off back toward Genkai's compound. When she reached it, she found her grandfather, Genkai, Yukina, and Kurama already awake. Yukina stood from the table as she excused herself and pulled Kagome toward her room so that the girl could borrow something to wear for the day.

She opened her closet with a smile and offered to let her wear anything she wished. "Though mostly there are kimono."

"I prefer Kimono." Kagome said softly with a gentle smile. After looking through the selection, she pulled out a pale blue one with a pure white obi. Yukina stepped outside so she could change and then they returned to the kitchen where Hiei had shown up. The dark haired girl seemed to smile brighter at this and Genkai simply allowed a brow to raise in question, though Kurama merely smiled. Yukina giggled and offered her some breakfast, which she accepted. Tsuki and Hikari both jumped into her lap and curled up around each other causing her to smile softly at them both.

"Ikiji tells me you're studying scrolls that involve my techniques." Genkai said in a conversational way as she sipped her tea.

The young woman looked up and nodded her head. "I am most interested in the technique called the 'Spirit Wave' as it may be useful to help one of my friends. Her brother is not himself these days and this might release him of the demonic influence as well as keep him from thinking himself is to blame over the deeds he was forced to commit."

"You know someone who is possessed by a demon?"

"It is more an item which he is controlled through that is placed within his body. Removing it otherwise could quite possibly kill him." Kagome replied with a sad note. "I've been practicing your technique in hopes of using it on him when next we meet."

"Who is it you are training under?" The old woman questioned curiously.

"Several friends and an old woman who is like a grandmother to us all." Kagome answered casually. It was amazing how good she was getting at stating facts but keeping most of them to herself.

"Where exactly do you train at?"

"Mostly it is in a forest near Kaede's, which while it seems to not be far from the shrine, is rather far away." It _was_ true. Kaede's was five hundred years away.

Ikiji merely shook his head at their talk and smiled. "I think it is time for us to return home, Kagome."

"Hai, ojii-sama." She stood with a smile. "Farewell Yukina-chan, Kurama-kun, Hiei-sama, Genkai-sama." Her eyes sparkled as she gave them each a bow to go with their titles and turned to follow her grandfather out. Hiei had seemed slightly surprised at the title she'd given him, but shrugged it off as there were others around and only Kurama knew of their relationship.

The group watched them go as the two animals shifted into their larger forms to carry them off. Kagome slid onto Tsuki after helping her grandfather onto Hikari. A shimmer of magic surrounded them before they seemingly vanished. Kurama recognized it instantly as kitsune magic and assumed either the girl learned it from her son or that the kit with them created the illusion.

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

Panting was heard as well as the clang of metal on metal as it appeared that two warriors were fighting diligently against the other. One wore the outfit of a slayer as the other wore something closer resembling the ensemble of a samurai. It was a fighting kimono that was dark blue and covered in swirling pink sakura petals. They were evenly matched as one went to strike only to be blocked by the other. They seemed to dance around each other, but the slayer wasn't all that great with her sword. With a flick of her wrist it blocked another strike, but her opponent was prepared and twisted their body to strike with their hand as they spun their leg out to knock them off balance. The tactic worked as the slayer went down and her sword flew from her hand.

A woman with dark hair and sapphire eyes smiled at her victory as she helped the brown eyed woman to her feet. "You know Miroku will kill us if he finds out."

"That's why we're not telling him." The slayer replied with a giggle. The slayer then turned to her companion, Kirara, and asked her to bring Inuyasha to them.

"Inuyasha?"

"You can deal with my intelligence and skill in battle, but you need to deal with speed and brute force." Sango instructed with a smile. "A brash hanyou is the perfect training, then we need to teach you to deal precision blows and how to avoid them."

"And we need to pray I don't have to deal with them anytime soon." The sapphire eyed girl said with a giggle.

"You need somethin Sango?" Questioned a gruff voice as an inu hanyou appeared near them.

"Actually, hai Inuyasha. I need you to spar with Kagome so that she can learn to deal with greater speed and brute force."

"You sure she's ready to be fightin me?"

"Hai Inuyasha, now begin."

The hanyou shrugged and withdrew tetsusaiga, though he didn't transform it. At the questioning look he got from Sango, he told her he wanted to make sure she could deal with it before he transformed it. The slayer nodded. He rushed the girl and she easily dodged and brought up her sword in an attempt to strike him, but he quickly vanished. Used to his quick movements from watching his battles and even being accustomed to watching Sesshoumaru fight, her eyes quickly adjusted and caught sight of him. He charged her and she twirled around and raised her blade to block his strike.

Steadily things got more difficult as her energy began to run low. Growling to herself, she decided to try something new. Smirking, she stabbed her blade into the ground and turned in time to dodge a blade being swung at her. Her eyes glowed a pure white for a moment as power built around her and energy formed at her finger tips. "Spirit reflection blast!"

The hanyou was blasted half-way across the field and Kagome swayed for a moment before shaking away the slight dizziness of using a new technique. As Inuyasha shakily rose to his feet, he turned to look at her. "Where'd you learn that?"

"In a scroll from the shrine. It's one of Lady Genkai's techniques. I'm also studying several others." Kagome replied with a small smile.

"So you learn better from scrolls?" Sango asked as she approached her. When the slayer received a nod, she smirked. "Then I need to return to my village to gather a few things."

"May I come?"

"It'll require a three day trip." Sango commented, knowing that for some reason Kagome had been if-y about leaving anywhere and not being able to return to the well before nightfall.

"I'll explain to Hiei that it's required for my training, which it is, and that I'll be back as quickly as possible."

"So you'll leave for Sango's village but not for shard hunting?" Inuyasha questioned, slightly angry. They'd not left the village for nearly a month now. Kagome had even had to return to her time every single night and all because of her 'boyfriend'.

The miko sighed as she looked to the ground. "There is something that I've yet to tell you all, but I wish to not be overheard."

Sango nodded at this. "I'll gather Miroku and he'll set a barrier around us."

"Alright." Kagome agreed softly. Sango disappeared after that and returned fifteen minutes later with her husband in tow. They quickly set out for a little clearing and he erected a barrier around them which would contain all sound before he purified the inside of the barrier of all taint simply to make sure nothing overheard. Shippo had also come with them and was looking at her expectantly. So she asked them not to say anything until she was done, then told them of how she was carrying a pup and how it was growing at the rate of a fire demon pregnancy, acted like a fox demon pregnancy, and required energy like an ice maiden pregnancy.

"So let me get this straight… you're carrying this demon's pup and that's the reason we can't go anywhere?" Inuyasha practically demanded.

"If you want Inuyasha, I can leave for five to six days before we need to return. Yukina said that I'd start weakening after the third day, but that the affects wouldn't be too bad until the sixth. But we can't go out for two weeks at a time."

Sango nodded. "Now I understand why you've been returning home each night. Hiei-san is sharing his energy with you so that you can cope with the pregnancy, and so you don't miscarriage. At least we can train more often."

Miroku seemed to be deep in thought though. "How much longer will you carry for, Kagome-sama?"

"Two and a half months according to Hiei, but that's if I carry to full term. Why?"

"I will need to speak with Kaede-sama, but I believe I have a way to alleviate some of your stress. There is a spell I know, but it requires a mass amount of ki to create. I can use offuda and pour some of my ki into them, then you could place them on your side of the well. In essence, it would slow time through the well. I believe I can alter the spell so that a month would pass there while a day passes here."

"Could you really?" Kagome asked excitedly. "If this worked, then I could stay home for the rest of my pregnancy and then return a month or two after the birth. Then only a week would've passed here."

"But you will need the scrolls I want you to study if you do this. And we'll have to ask Kaede about miko scrolls." Sango commented.

"And I'll tell Hiei that after I get this done, I might be able to remain at the shrine until after the pregnancy. Then I could even finish school early!" Kagome said excitedly.

Miroku nodded at their plan and easily disbanded the barrier as they all made their way to Kaede's to ask the miko for help. Kagome also came up with another idea and Miroku agreed that he'd place a barrier around the village for the time being. While not strong, it'd repel Kanna's mirror and any demons who wished harm. Unless the demon was powerful and repetitively attacked the barrier, then it would fall; though they'd at least have a warning.

When they reached the hut and asked Kaede about miko scrolls, the old woman nodded and told them that she could get some. So it was decided that she'd send Miroku to a temple with a letter asking for them to train her apprentice with while the girls would travel to the slayer village with Inuyasha and Shippo to make sure they remained safe. With that all decided, Miroku dragged her outside and told her that he'd gather scrolls on reiki control from Mushin since he'd have Hachi accompany him.

And so Kagome smiled as she told them that she would be going home; though before she made it far, Shippo informed her that tonight was the night of the new moon. With that, she turned and grabbed Sango as well as scooped up Kirara. "Would you like to be able to communicate with Kirara?"

The slayer's eyes widened at that. "Hai, I would love to!"

Kagome then had Sango slice her palm open and sliced open Kirara's paw. Thus the bond was formed. Sango agreed to have Kirara bond with Kagome as well, and the miko happily obliged before her smile turned slightly shy. "I would also like to bond with you, Sango-chan. I know that we are both humans, but the bond works the same with us as it does with youkai. It's more a ritual that we'd have to do, though with youkai it only requires their blood touching ours because the magic is _in_ their blood."

"I would love to become your sister by blood, Kagome-chan." There was such happiness in the slayer's eyes that the miko hadn't seen in a long time. Not since she'd thought she'd had Kohaku back. "But we should wait until we return from the slayer village, alright?"

"Alright Sango." The miko agreed with a smile of her own. "And if anything goes wrong, simply send Kirara through the well, ok?"

"Alright." The slayer agreed.

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

"Can't you go play with Souta and Shippo?" Kagome asked as she attempted to do some of her homework on her laptop. Already she'd gotten her bath and pulled on a baby blue yukata.

"I'm staying right here." Grouched an annoyed _human_ as he sat on the bed with his back against the wall.

_At least he had a bath first._ Kagome thought as she saw him sitting on her purple satin sheets. No pink had touched her room since she turned sixteen. She'd even painted her walls a powder blue color so that they were no longer pink. Of course Inuyasha was wearing modern clothing since she'd decided to hide his hinezumi robes. He was wearing pajama pants that had little fluffy white dogs patterned on them, and a dark blue muscle shirt. Shaking her head, she turned back to her homework as he simply sat there… staring at her. "You can quit staring."

"Why are you working on that?"

Sigh. "So I can graduate Inuyasha."

Neither noticed the shadow that entered through the window and hid in the shadows of the room. "Why do you want to graduate so badly?"

"Are you _sure_ you can't go bug, I mean stay with Shippo and Souta? I know how much you love halo."

"I'm perfectly fine right here." The man argued as he glared at her. "Why are you so intent on getting me to leave?"

"Because Hiei will be coming over and he doesn't need to see you in my room." She grumbled.

"I've slept in here before."

"Not since he and I got together." The girl grumbled. "Now _please_ Inuyasha, go stay with Souta and Shippo."

"_You're_ the one who dragged me here." The man argued.

"It's your _human_ night and you're _safer_ here, especially with Hiei, Souta, Shippo, and I in the house." The girl said as she twitched in annoyance.

"Feh!"

That did it! "Sit! Souta Shippo!" Two boys immediately rushed into the room and looked to the seething young woman and then to the now unconscious hanyou. "Get him out of here before I do something I regret."

Shippo snickered before stiffening. "Someone's here."

"Huh?" Kagome asked before she realized he was right and smiled. "Hello Hiei!" She'd turned and was smiling at a dark corner that the demon slowly came out of.

"So he's human tonight?"

Kagome nodded and shot the unconscious man a glare. "Hai, now get him out of my room and _keep_ him out."

"Hai momma/sis." The boys said before dragging him out.

With him finally gone, Kagome sighed and moved to collapse onto the bed. "He's irritating."

"Then why deal with him?"

"Why do you deal with anyone?" Kagome questioned back, knowing that he seemingly hated everyone.

The hi youkai smirked at that and slipped into the bed next to her after removing his boots, cloak, and belts. His arms wrapped around her torso and pulled her back against his chest and he noticed that she smiled happily at the feel. "How was your training?"

"Wonderful, I even got to spar with Inuyasha today," she admitted, seemingly proud of herself. "But Sango-chan needs me to stay for about three days. After that, they don't think I'll need to go train with them as often."

"Three days and you'll be staying home more often?" Hiei questioned her curiously.

"Hai. She's going to gather something for me to train with, as is Miroku-kun and then I can stay here to train during the day until after my pregnancy." She fidgeted for a moment. "Is it ok if I stay with her?"

"Hai." The hi-youkai agreed with a nod. "But I expect you back in exactly three days."

"I promise I'll be back by then."

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

Sango was near the well as she got ready to leave. Miroku had left already stating that he needed to stop by Mushin's on his way back from the temple that Kaede was sending him to. It wasn't long after sunrise that Inuyasha appeared through the well, though he seemed ticked about something. Kagome followed with Shippo and the two animal youkai that now followed her everywhere. Sango smiled and Hikari morphed to her larger form, as did Kirara. Tsuki also did and nudged Shippo. The kit smiled and climbed onto her back as Kagome giggled at them.

Sango laughed as she shook her head at them and climbed onto Kirara's back. The group set off as Inuyasha ran beneath the flying animals and Shippo was laughing as Tsuki sped up and slowed and did midair flips with him still on her back. Kagome and Sango were talking about their babies. "So what do you want yours to be, Sango?"

"A boy, like Miroku wants." The slayer commented. "What about you?"

"I wouldn't mind either a girl or a boy. Assuming Hiei wants to, we can always have more later."

"That's a good point." Sango murmured. "But I'd still prefer a boy first."

"Have any names in mind?"

"Aiko for a girl, or Akihiro for a boy. You?"

"I figured that Hiei would name the child, like most male demons do in this time."

"What name would you choose for your child if you were to choose?"

"I'm not sure." The miko responded with a shrug. "But I'll have to discuss names with Hiei."

"Most definitely if you haven't come up with _any_." Kagome grumbled something back about still having _plenty_ of time. Sango only giggled at her. "Anyways, do you have anyone to practice sparring with in your time?"

"I need to train Souta." She commented. "We tend to use boken but they're not as good as the real thing, why?"

"We'll collect some good supplies while at the village so that you and your brother can train while you're home. But you _have_ to keep your skills up."

"I will, I promise." Kagome said with a large smile before her eyes suddenly widened. "I still have to pick up the sword from Totosai-san!"

Sango giggled. "I'll make Miroku pick it up and I'll bring it to you in your time."

"That would be awesome Sango." Their chatter continued until later that night when Inuyasha seemingly disappeared. Feeling a slight pull on something inside of her had her curious, so she dove into her mind and looked through it. When she reached her miko energy, she realized that it was her soul that felt the pull. _But that means… Kikyo._ With that knowledge, Kagome returned her focus to their surroundings and spread out her senses. There were no demons anywhere nearby, and that was a _very_ good thing. Tsuki and Hikari curled up on her chest as she lay down with a sigh, and Shippo laid his head on her stomach as he, too, curled up close to her.

The group all woke shortly before dawn and set out quickly, skipping breakfast in doing so. They managed to reach the slayer village within a few hours and Sango gathered several weapons as well as many scrolls. The three animals all made sounds of protest as Sango and Kagome attempted to carry the items and quickly moved over to them. The girls both giggled and attached equal items onto each one. It wasn't long before they had once again set off. Inuyasha was smirking now as the animals flew lower and closer to him. "It seems the lower youkai are all too scared to face me now!"

An hour later and Kagome was wishing that she had strangled the hanyou for his little outburst. They were currently battling a horde of lower youkai and _several_ higher level youkai. Sango was also furious and she was throwing hiraikotsu at all the approaching demons. She looked _livid_. "How the hell did he get B-class demons to fight against us?"

"I wanna know where the hell he's getting all the E and D class!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he cast the wind scar once again.

"Momma!" the shout came from Shippo as she turned to find one of the higher class racing toward her. A hand rose and energy shards shot forth as she glared at the ashes in annoyance.

The rest of the high level decided to stand back until they deemed it safe enough to come in and leave unscathed; which they had a long wait. After another five hours, Sango started to tire. Tsuki was given an order to help Kirara protect the slayer and she did her best. Energy surrounded the neko and the shadows began bending to her will as they waved around the slayer in order to prevent an attack on her being. The cat demon was growling dangerously as several low level tried to get too close to her charge. In mere moments the filth was nothing but a bloody pile. The energy surrounding the cat steadily picked up and soon her range of shadow control grew wider.

Hikari's range of power was also climbing as she combated the demons that came to close to her mistress with the help of her mistress' son. It was another hour before she herself began to tire, her pregnancy making the drain on her energy go faster. A panicked shout had her turning in time to see a sight that tore her heart. Shippo had jumped in the way of an attack meant for her and a sword was pierced through his chest by an A-Class youkai. Energy suddenly began bubbling around her and her eyes flashed to violet with a blue pupil as the energy exploded outward with no care as to whom it touched. Screams of pain surrounded her, but she only cared about one person in that moment, "Shippo!"

Sango, Inuyasha, and the three animals quickly moved away from the scene as Tsuki swiftly grabbed the hanyou's haori and propelled herself into the air so that they could miss the energy attack. They all watched as the energy violently tore into anything in its path. All the remaining demons screamed in pain and terror as they were completely wiped out. The energy continued to crackle around them as the miko rushed to the kit before shakily pulling him into her lap, "mom… ma?"

"I'm here my little kit." Her whispered words seemingly soothed him as his eyes slowly began to darken.

A small smile appeared on his lips as his eyes sparkled in happiness. "I can see my papa."

The miko's eyes widened and she had to choke down a sob at that, though tears still ran freely down her pale porcelain face. "Then go to him Shippo, he's waiting just for you."

"Ai shiteru okaa-sama."

"Ai shiteru Shippo," Kagome whispered back as his body went limp. Sobs could be heard as the energy began reacting violently around her. Her friends backed away as the energy began to swarm into the air.

Sango quickly looked to Inuyasha before turning to Hikari. "Do you think you can go in there and get them? We need to take her back to Edo before more come."

The kitsune nodded sadly as she dove into the energy and navigated her way to her mistress. Nudging her, she got her to turn and saw her depressed eyes. _**(Come mistress, we need to leave. I'll carry you both to Edo.)**_

The girl nodded, not even bothering to correct the mistress part. Her arms wrapped tightly around her little kit that was slowly shrinking and transforming back into his true form, a fox. With midnight blue eyes, she lifted herself onto Hikari's back with one hand before curling around her little boy and crying harder. The kitsune growled deeply to calm her and she fell asleep quickly from exhaustion and the kitsune rose from the ground and into the air to the others who were awaiting.

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

**\\/**

**\/**

"Is something wrong Hiei?" Kurama questioned as they sat outside of Genkai's compound.

"Kagome, she promised to return yesterday, but she hasn't."

"Perhaps something important came up."

_**"Yes, something did."**_

Kurama turned to the voice while all Hiei heard was barks and yips. "Something _did_ happen?" The red head questioned. "What do you know?"

_**"Mistress' son was killed."**_ The little white kitsune said as her tail wilted farther. _**"Inuyasha-sama brought mistress home today, but she's not herself. She just curled up further on the bed and mumbles that it was all her fault."**_

Emerald green eyes were almost impossibly wide at that as he stood. "Hiei, we need to get to your mate's house. Now."

The fire apparition stood and took off at the urgency in the silver's voice, not even correcting that the girl was not yet his mate. He felt a rise in demonic energy and realized that Kurama shifted into his youko form in order to keep up with his speed. It was no more than fifteen minutes before he landed in the Goshinboku and was able to see into her room. A woman wearing a patterned kimono was trying to sooth Kagome, as she was continuing to cry. He easily slipped into the room and noticed that the woman tensed immediately as she quickly turned to him. The little black neko quickly jumped onto her shoulder and shook it's head no, though.

"I guess that means you're one of her friends."

Not a moment later did Youko Kurama enter the room before shifting back into his Shuichi form. On his shoulder was Hikari and she quickly jumped to Kagome's side and began nuzzling into her like Kirara was doing. "What happened?"

The woman in the patterned kimono turned to him with a sad sigh. "We'd gone to collect something and Inuyasha, being the idiot he is, commented that the demons were too scared of him to attack us. Not long after, a horde of E through C class demons attacked, as well as a couple B-class. We did fine for the first six hours. I tired out after the fifth, but continued fighting anyways. Kagome was doing the best out of us all, but she was tiring quickly. She never noticed a single A-Class aiming for her, but Shippo did. He took the hit and next thing we know, _we_ have to run from her. All of her energy simply lashed out and everything nearby was practically fried."

"You went into Demon World?" Kurama questioned sharply.

"You could say that." The girl said with a shrug. "We needed something and the trip was supposed to be a quick one. Inuyasha's the idiot who drew all the demons to us."

"Am not," said a voice from the window as he entered through it. "All I did was blast a tree out of our way."

"Which drew them to us!" the girl practically shouted.

"Keh!"

The woman quickly walked up to him, yanked the package from his arms and shoved him back out the window. "And _stay_ out!" With that, the window was slammed shut. The long package in the girl's arms was quickly carried over to the girl. "Come on Kagome, you need to look at this. Totosai-san finished it."

_**\Totosai? The famous sword smith?\**_ Youko questioned from inside their mind as his interest was peaked. It also peaked Hiei's.

The girl whimpered, but looked up at the other woman. The two demons were shocked to see her eyes were a deep midnight blue, "Sango?"

The older woman nodded. "Hai, and look what I have. The gift you said was for your lover."

_**\She got the mean little bastard a gift?\**_ The kitsune snickered.

_\Hush Youko.\_ Shuichi said, noticing Hiei's surprise.

"How…?" Kagome questioned as she looked at the package.

"Miroku got it for us, remember? I sent him as soon as we returned to Kaede's." Sango soothed. "Now don't you want to make sure it's perfect before you give it to Hiei."

_\She must not know who you are.\_

_**/Hn./**_

The girl nodded, though her eyes seemed dazed. Her hands gently reached for and peeled away the paper of the package to reveal a beautiful sword with a pure black blade. Sango gasped at its appearance, as did Youko. _**\Well fuck, that's an extremely rare material.\**_

"Do you know what this is Kagome?" Sango questioned as her wide eyes took in the blade.

A small smile graced the younger girl's lips as she nodded. "Perfect for him," Sango shook her head at that, so she elaborated. "It's an extremely strong material found in Meikai that Totosai used so that the sword can fully control the Darkness Flame technique."

Well that shocked everyone in the room. "Fully control?" Kurama questioned, shifting Kagome's attention.

Said girl 'eep'ed and shoved the sword behind Sango's back. At least now her eyes seemed a little clearer. It was a moment later that Sango's eyes widened as she looked to Hiei then back to Kagome, an apology clear in her eyes. Before anyone could say anything else, a ticked off Inuyasha barged in through the door. "Sango you bitch, what the hell was that for?!"

Kagome's eyes darkened at that and Sango gave a slight nod as Inuyasha attempted to back away. The slayer opened the nearby window and Kirara 'gently' shoved him out of it. Now the young girl took a deep breath. "Sit! Sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit!"

"Feel better?" Sango questioned as she wrapped her arms around the younger girl and pulled her back into herself. Kurama and Hiei both looked out the window with wide eyes and mentally agreed to _never_ anger or upset the girl.

"A little," Kagome murmured before she pulled herself from the slayer's embrace and flung herself into Hiei's. Ah, now she felt much better. Tears were still slowly falling from her dark blue eyes as Sango smiled a little and motioned for Kurama to follow her. It was up to Hiei to make her feel better now.

* * *

Hello everyone, I'd simply like to let you know that I have finished chapter ten. Considering you probably just read it to get here, you're probably saying 'duh'. Anyways, I'd like to thank those of you who have reviewed and/or read this chapter!

A/N: This story is actually finished, but I was waiting to post it until I could hopefully recover my other stories. Sadly I couldn't, but this and a few other stories were finished and placed elsewhere for saving.

**Evil RULZ (Here's another update.)**

**Kidnapped by a Demon (I hate having short chapters, it seems wrong if it's less than at least five pages lol.)**

**Kagome Lady of Darkness (Thanks.)**

**Angel4EverLostInLife (Here's the next chapter.)**

**Usagi-chin (I'm glad you enjoy it.)**

**Reads-way-2-much (It's all good. I only just got around to updating again, but I expect a review from you lol.)**

**Exclipcein (I will, and I plan to finish all of my stories.)**


	12. Chapter XI

**Shifting Times**

**Chapter XI**

**Disclaimer:** I do **not** own Inuyasha or Yuyu Hakusho.

**Dedication: **There are four dedications for this story. WhiteDemoness11, I hope that you enjoy this story as you've read all my others. Madmiko, I hope you also read and enjoy this story, as I hoped to match the length of your chapters with my own. Ryukotsusei, I love your stories and hope you like this one. And the final dedication is to KagHieiLuver. I hope you enjoy the scenes ya little pervert lol. I wrote it for you mostly, but all the others were in mind as well.

**Author: **Chrystal-Hearts

**Summary: **Kagome is crossing between the present and the past while trying to balance school, friends, and even a _lover_. Many things will happen as the Inu-gang will be forced to face off against Naraku many times, while things in the present might be getting a little difficult.

Let's get telepathic!

_**/Hiei/**_

_**\Youko\**_

_\Kurama\_

_**(Kagome)**_

_**(Hikari)**_

_(Tsuki)_

_**Kitsune**_

* * *

**Last Time:**

"Feel better?" Sango questioned as she wrapped her arms around the younger girl and pulled her back into herself. Kurama and Hiei both looked out the window with wide eyes and mentally agreed to _never_ anger or upset the girl.

"A little." Kagome murmured before she pulled herself from the slayer's embrace and flung herself into Hiei's. Ah, now she felt much better. Tears were still slowly falling from her dark blue eyes as Sango smiled a little and motioned for Kurama to follow her. It was up to Hiei to make her feel better now.

**This Time:**

Hiei held her close as she cried into his embrace. He was not use to comforting someone, so he really had no idea what to do; but it appeared that he didn't need to do anything besides hold her. Slowly she calmed down and simply curled closer to him, content to remain within his arms. While she'd broken down, he'd moved them to the bed and had lay down on it with her still in his arms. "What happened?"

His soft question had her looking up into the hi youkai's crimson eyes, her own a little puffy and very red. "He took the hit… meant for me." Her words were soft and came out whispered as she allowed more tears to slip down her pale skin.

The demon easily forced her to look up at him and slowly leaned down to kiss away her tears. "He protected you, and our child then."

"H-hai." She whispered out as she closed her eyes and willed her tears away.

"You should be proud, your kit was very brave."

The woman curled closer to him and nodded. "You're right Hiei."

"Now onna, what is this present you have for me?"

The girl gave a giggle as she smiled at the hint of excitement which leaked into his voice. "Sango still has it, so let's go down and get it from her." He nodded and she led them downstairs after stopping in the bathroom real quick to splash water on her face. When they made it to the bottom of the steps, she called for the slayer who appeared with the sword still hidden behind her.

"Need something Kagome-chan?"

"Hai, I need the sword." The miko replied with a soft smile. Nodding, the slayer handed it to her and stepped back. The blue eyed girl then turned to Hiei and presented him with it. "You said you wished for me to have a proper courting, and Sango-chan explained what that entailed a while back. So this is my gift to you to let you know I accept you as a mate."

That left the hybred completely shocked. He could also tell that the kitsune was shocked as well. Slowly his eyes ran over the sword, taking in the black material of the blade, the crimson dragon that wrapped around it, the flames which surrounded the hilt, and the gems inlaid within the golden hilt. The sword appeared as though it cost a fortune. Looking up and meeting her anxious gaze, he gave her a soft smile. "You didn't have to."

"I know, but it _is_ part of the courting tradition. And, you could use it in your training. With this you can summon the dragon without using your own energy, and it'll even create a shield against strong attacks and break barriers. Totosai-san said it would be named Gouka since that's what it could control." Kagome smiled as her eyes lightened at her lover's soft smile.

"There's a sheath as well." Sango said as she stepped forward with another package in her hands. "Miroku returned with it before Inuyasha brought you home. He said that it was a gift from Bokseno."

Kagome nodded as she accepted that package as well. Slowly she pulled the paper from it to reveal a stunning black sheath with a pure white dragon surrounded by dark red flames that held shards of ice. The girl's eyes lit up as she looked it over before smiling a little more brightly as she handed it to Hiei. "It suits you."

All Hiei could do was nod as he accepted the sword and the sheath from her. Carefully he set the items aside before he pulled her against him and claimed her lips in a searing kiss. Kurama chuckled and shook his head as he excused himself into the kitchen. Sango quickly followed after him with a happy smile. "I'm so glad that she finally found some happiness. She deserves it."

"She was unhappy before she met Hiei?"

"I believe she was content for the most part, but she had been in love with Inuyasha and he couldn't choose between her and Kikyo. It was heartbreaking to watch her sit up all night and wait on him when he left to see Kikyo, especially when the bitch tried killing him on countless occasions; only to be stopped by Kagome." Sango said with a shake of her head. "Then one day she returned and she just seemed different. Soon I found out that she was secretly seeing someone and she just kept getting happier."

"That's interesting." Kurama commented. "So how did you all meet, anyways?"

"It's a _long_ story, and one I have no desire to tell at the moment."

**/\**

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Sango was walking slowly through Inuyasha's forest with Kagome at her side while they talked about how the young miko should train in her own time. As it stood, she'd need to remain near either Yukina or Hiei and at the moment she thought she'd need to remain near Yukina. Actually, she was thinking of inviting the ice maiden over to stay with her so that Hiei could go off training in the Makai like she knew he needed and wanted to. With this thought in mind, she decided that she'd have to ask the ice maiden. She'd even suggest that she could stay at Genkai's if need be.

It wasn't long before they came across the village and heard curses coming from Inuyasha, which was quite amazing since they were still pretty far away. They could just now see its outline from the edge of the tree line. The two girls shared a look before racing off to the village with a great swiftness. When they reached it, Kagome started giggling at the poor hanyou as he was being easily beaten by a single demon who was looking quite bored with the situation; though he did smirk at the hanyou's words. Inuyasha was yelling about how he was going to dismember the bat demon.

Finally not being able to contain her giggles any longer, the miko collapsed in a fit of them. The violet eyes of the bat demon traveled to her and a playful glint entered her eyes. Before the others even realized he moved, he was standing right in front of the giggling miko with a smirk on his rather handsome visage. "Find something amusing miko-_sama_?"

The girl's giggles ceased as she sent an evil glare up at the demon. "I told you I _hate_ that name, Okinawa."

"And I told you, I am _not_ a fruit bat." The demon responded playfully. Needless to say, the others were completely confused. "So I assume you _do_ know this dog?"

"Hai." The miko replied with a slight giggle. "He's Inuyasha, and this is Sango." She gestured to the girl at her side. "I was wondering when you'd come visit."

"I only now learned that my partner deserted this world for the newly created spirit world." The bat replied with a shrug. "He thought me dead and became bored with this place apparently."

"Perhaps ye should continue this conversation in the hut." An old miko stated as she approached them. "Ye are attracting a lot of attention to thyselves."

Kagome nodded with a smile. "Alright Kaede-baa-chan." Turning to the bat she gave him a bright smile and grabbed his hand before dragging him off toward Kaede's hut. As soon as they were inside, she had him sit and started making some tea. "How have you been Kuronue?"

"Alright, and yourself Kagome?" The bat asked curiously.

The girl tensed at the question and willed her tears to stay away. Taking a deep breath, she turned to him with a sad almost longing look on her face. "I lost my little kit a few days ago, and I've been being courted by the man I love."

The bat's eyes widened slightly in surprise as he scented salt before he stood and swiftly pulled the miko against his chest and rested his chin upon her head. "I'm sorry for your loss, but it will be alright."

The miko nodded as a few tears slipped down her face. "That's what everyone keeps saying, but I miss him."

"I'm sure you do Kagome, but he is at peace now." The bat said almost knowingly. When he was sure she'd calmed, he lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "Anyways, I came here to see if I could join your shard hunt, as I've nothing better to do."

She smiled. "You can join, but the quest is on hold for now. I'm sorta pregnant."

"That's interesting."

Kagome gave a sheepish smile at his lecherous smirk and then they both began laughing while Inuyasha fumed about it outside. Sango giggled at this and went off to find Miroku in order to discuss something with him, and hopefully he'd agree to it. Towards the end of the day, Kagome was more than ready to go home and get some rest as she curled into Hiei's arms. Kuronue walked her to the well, as she'd explained about it and their plans. Once she'd made it into her house, she showered and curled up in bed. Hiei was not yet there, and Kagome wasn't sure if he'd return that night anyways.

The next morning the miko woke to a still empty bed and sighed sadly, knowing that Hiei hadn't returned during the night. Slowly she pulled herself out of bed and dressed before descending the steps. Souta was already up and smiling secretively. "Hey sis, think I can come to the past with you today?"

That was an interesting question, and so she considered it as Hikari and Tsuki both rubbed against her. _If he could come, then he could meet Miroku and Kuronue. He could also meet Kaede._ With a nod of her head, she smiled. "If the well let's you through…" She paused at that. _"How did Sango make it to my time?"_

_(She held onto Kirara and the well let them through.)_

_"Thank you Tsuki."_ The miko responded before smiling at her little brother. "Be ready in ten minutes."

"Hai nee-san!" the boy exclaimed as he raced up the stairs to get ready.

The young woman giggled at his enthusiasm as she smiled at his retreating back. It was less than ten minutes later when the boy came racing back out with everything he thought he'd need. With yet another smile, Kagome took his hand and led him to the well. "We need to be touching to both pass through."

"Alright," the boy said as he smiled a little nervously at her.

"Don't be afraid, the well will let you pass as long as you're with me."

The boy gave a soft nod as he closed his eyes and allowed his sister to tug him into the fell. For a few minutes, it felt as if they were falling through air, then suddenly the feeling changed and it was as if they were weightless. Souta's eyes slowly opened and he could see they were surrounded by glowing blue light. "Wow…"

"It's amazing, is it not?" Kagome's soft voice startled him at first, and she smiled, "are you alright Souta?"

"Yeah, just a little surprised." At that moment they landed on solid ground and the boy looked up to see bright sunlit skies above him. "I'm really here."

"Yeah, now let's get to the village." The kittens took that as their cue and Tsuki manipulated the shadows to lift them all up and set them outside the well.

After a few minutes of walking they were finally at the village and Souta was looking around in near aw, "this place is amazing."

The blue eyed girl smiled at that and hugged her brother close. Giving a nod, she agreed "it is wonderful."

**/\**

**/\\**

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It was a long day and the two siblings were tired out, but Kagome was thrilled. One more day and she wouldn't have to return for a few months, though it'd be a few days for them. Another surprise was that Sango would be coming with her, Kirara would be sent to bring Miroku as soon as the slayer went into labor. Hopefully Yukina would be willing to play midwife to Sango as well.

Perhaps she'd be able to ask the young ice maiden the next time she saw her. Speaking of which, she'd need to get into contact with the young woman soon as she had yet to see Hiei. Kagome knew that he had to train, but she assumed he'd return to her within a few days to at least replenish her energy by soothing the pregnancy with his own.

As she walked along with Souta at her side, she began thinking on how things were going to change. She knew it would, as there would soon be two babies coming into the world, and both of them could possibly lose their mothers to the fight that lay ahead. The group had yet to run into the real Naraku, and Kagome had the feeling that the final battle was going to be soon. Thinking on that made slight worry come into her mind as she thought about her precious child.

Her thoughts were pulled from herself as Souta asked her a question, one that truly surprised Kagome. "Kagome, do you think that when you return after your pregnancy, do you think that I could come with you?"

Surprise and slight fear was prominent in her eyes, but that soon turned into pride. In that moment she felt proud of her brother and his strength in his desire to help them in their fight. "We shall see Souta; it depends on how things are when we are ready to return."

"Alright sis," they once again lapsed into silence until Souta turned back to her. "You do have some cool friends though. I really like Kuroune."

A giggle escaped the girl at that as she turned to him. "That bat is something, but we need to be getting home; I'm exhausted."

"Right sis, we should hurry then."

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

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**\/**

It was night and there were many giggles coming from the living room of the shrine house as two girls were watching a movie while on the couch. Sango couldn't help but laugh at the cheesy attempts the guy on TV was making at the girl. Kagome just giggled and shook her head at the idiocy of it all, "do they really think that's how a lecher would go after the girl he wants?"

"From first hand experience, I think it's not," Sango said with yet another giggle, "but this sure is funny to watch."

"Mmhmm."

"So when do you plan on visiting this Yukina that you said would be your mid-wife."

"Tomorrow, we'll take Tsuki and Kirara. Hikari wants to go find Hiei."

"Then we should get some rest, where will I be sleeping?"

"In my room for now, Souta said he'll help mom fix up the guest room tomorrow after school. We'll probably spend all day at Lady Genkai's, otherwise we would probably be able to help."

"Alright."

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

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**\/**

It was still early morning when both girls awakened and began getting ready for the day. Sango was thrilled upon using the shower as it felt wonderful and was enclosed within a room with a door that locked. Another thing she loved was that she could still wear a kimono in this time, though she was told that hers was in the wash, so she was allowed to borrow one of Kagome's. They were all very soft and made of a pleasant silk material.

Kagome also dressed in a kimono, choosing a soft purple one that was made of silk like most of her kimonos were. Sitting in front of her desk, she slowly began combing her hair so that she could braid it for the day. It was getting longer and she needed to be able to do something with it to keep it from getting in her way, she just couldn't stand the idea of cutting it though. It was long and soft like silk because of the new shampoo she decided to try; it was actually a natural blend of herbs that truly did help.

"Are you ready?" the question was softly spoken and Kagome turned to look at Sango with a small smile, she nodded her head and rose to her feet. "Kirara, Tsuki."

The two kittens obediently rose from the bed and followed after the two girls as they left the room and descended the stairs. Kun-loon swiftly called the two into the kitchen and had them sit at the table as she placed large meals before the both of them, and even gave some food to the two little neko. Only after they had eaten their large meals and had seconds were the they allowed to leave.

It was an easy trip to the far away shrine, though both girls tired when it came to the steps. As a precaution for demon interference though, Miroku had made them both charm bracelets that allowed their weapons to appear as mere charms so that they could easily carry them around. He was simply worried for the both of them since he had learned about demons being in this time. Sango was quite adept at sensing demons, but Kagome was a little better since her meditative training with Miroku a few days ago.

It was because of all that that the girls could easily sense all of the surrounding demons and the fact that something was amiss. There was something that just felt wrong about where they were, and so they hurried their pace in order to reach the top faster. Upon cresting the steps they found their feeling to be linked to the fight that was occurring. Demon energy was practically covering the place and it was a thick jyaki which had Sango coughing slightly. Kagome's energy rose to the surface and energy began crackling along her skin in order to protect her. By linking hands with Sango, the electric barrier covered her skin as well, making it easier for her to breathe.

At that time they both turned to look at the two fighting figures; it was Hiei and he was facing what appeared to be a woman. Looking closely they found her to be extremely powerful. Sango quietly whispered that the woman was an ancient. Kagome just nodded and watched as the two fought, and it was easy to tell that Hiei was going to lose, though he was doing well at holding his own.

Sango was closely paying attention to the battle as she watched how Hiei moved and how well he seemed to know the movements of the demoness that he was fighting. Their movements seemed matched, though their powers seemed to be at two different levels. It was easy to tell who was going to win and yet it wasn't so certain at the same time. Kagome pulled her attention from the fight by giving her hand a slight tug and motioning for her to follow. The younger girl easily navigated their way around the fight and into the shrine.

The ice maiden greeted them with a smile and welcomed them inside as she looked at the new woman whose rounded belly was easily noticeable. It was easy for the ice maiden to tell that the girl was pregnant. "Hello Kagome, it is nice to see you again."

"Yukina, it is good to see you again as well. We saw that Hiei was here training, I believe?"

"Hai; Mukuro is with him and helping him, though she also wishes to win the upcoming tournament."

"Why would they train together if they both wish to win the tournament?" questioned Sango as she looked at them. "One would think that they would want to train separately in order to keep their true power from each other."

"True, but there aren't many that can match Hiei's power," Yukina said softly as she smiled at the new girl.

"Oh," Kagome looked between the two and wanted to smack herself. "Yukina, this is Sango, and Sango, this is Yukina. And I wanted to ask you something Yukina, I was curious if you would do me a favor?"

"What is it Kagome?"

"I was curious if you would mind being Sango's mid-wife as well? Certain circumstances make it so that she can't go to the doctor and would prefer to have her child at my house."

"Oh, I wouldn't mind. I did this kind of thing all the time in the ice world."

"I'd be very much in your debt," Sango said as she bowed respectfully to the ice maiden.

**/\**

**/\\**

**/-\\**

**\\-/**

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**\/**

Pants were heard as the moon still hung within the sky; two people seemed to be fiercely battling each other as they faced one another with calculative glances. One was a young man with violet eyes and the other was a woman with sapphire blue. Both looked each other over trying to figure out the best way to strike in order to win the match.

The boy made to move first, but the girl quickly matched his speed to block his attack. They had already been at it for several hours and it seemed as though neither was going to win, though perhaps it only seemed that way. Another strike from the boy was easily matched, but this time a strike flew at him as well. Having barely any time to block, he barely managed to dodge before back-flipping away and panting heavily, "you're just too good, I can't match you."

"Don't give up just yet; you're still keeping up with me."

"Yeah, but I feel ready to pass out," the boy said with a slight laugh. "I think we should both get some rest so that we can do it again tomorrow."

"Go on ahead in then, I think I'll stay out here to meditate a little bit."

"Are you sure?"

"Hai, there's something I need to work on."

The boy gave a slight nod before slowly making his way to the house and inside. The girl easily made her way to the base of the Goshinboku and relaxed gently against the bark. Her energy was only slightly low, though she was exhausted do to the immense drain that she had been feeling lately. It was due to the fact that Hiei had been gone even more lately, though Kagome had simply decided that she'd go visit Yukina every couple of days. The ice maiden helped her as much as possible and it managed to keep her energy stable as she needed it so in order for her to be able to continue training.

As it was, she was two weeks from her due date. She knew that soon she would start showing as it was the way of the kitsune. That thought made her pause and tears began to form before she firmly forced those thoughts from her mind. What she needed to do right now was concentrate so that she could have control of her powers for when she needed to face Naraku.

Thinking of Naraku had her thinking of all the wrongs he had committed and how he needed to be stopped, and soon. Kagome knew that as soon as her child was born she would need to get back in shape quickly, and then so would Sango. It was with these thoughts that she firmed her resolve to grow stronger so that she could help in the final battle. This time she wouldn't stand in the background, she would be in the front with the rest of her friends.

Slowly she allowed herself to sink into her own mind where she could easily see her power swirling around her core, it was there in which she trained. In her own mind she carried no pup within her and she couldn't truly harm herself. Her energy was flowing around her body and surrounding her in a type of violet mist. It was not enough though, and she called her reiki to surround her as well. The effect knocked her on her rear, but she kept at it, telling herself that she needed to be strong enough to protect them.

* * *

Here is yet another chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. I've finished writing this story and hope to have all of the chapters posted soon. Sorry I haven't been writing in a while, but a lot has come up between divorce, college, new bf, and now I'm pregnant lol. But it's all good because he wants me to stay at home for a while with the baby (I like the idea too), and my computer is all up to date software wise so I should be able to update all of my stories.

**Foxluna (Shippo had to die because… well I'm not too sure really, but it definitely make Kagome more determined to destroy Naraku and become more powerful.)**

**RebornRose1992 (It is sad that he's gone, but he gets to be with his father now.)**

**sousie (Thank-you, though I'm not too sure why I killed Shippo off.)**

**Kagome Lady of Darkness (Thank-you.)**

**Shado Kitsune (Thank-you for the compliment, and I try changing my writing style every so often because I feel it could always be better.)**

**Kuroyuri-Sama (Oh, the author note thingy, yeah. I plan on updating all of them within this next week lol.)**


End file.
